Rebels, Lady Rebels Reach Quarterfinals at Class AA State Tournament

By Molly Seales

On Sunday, February 13, 2022, the Rebels and Lady Rebels traveled to Marks, MS, to begin their quest for a state title. Unfortunately, the Rebels and Lady Rebels both came up short in their quarterfinal match-ups. Their season did not end like they had hoped for, but they still made their Rebel fans proud!

In the first round on Tuesday, the girls easily defeated Sharkey Issaquena 53-38. Sophomore Sky McMullan had an explosive game with 26 points, 14 rebounds, 6 steals, 5 deflections, and took a charge. 8th grader Mary Claire Jones scored in double figures with 13 points. She also had 3 assists, 3 deflections, 2 steals, a rebound, and a blocked shot. Senior Kenley Loftin added 6 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, had 3 assists, 3 deflections, 2 steals, and a blocked shot. Junior Jessie Kate Cobb added 5 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 deflections, and 1 steal. Freshman Jadyn King had 2 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Senior Renee Prosperie added a freethrow, 9 rebounds, 4 deflections, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a blocked shot. In the quarterfinals the Lady Rebels held their own against #1 seed Regents of Oxford. In the end, Regents narrowly edged out the Lady Rebels 55-48, ending their wonderful season. Mary Claire Jones had 22 points, 5 deflections, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and a blocked shot. Kenley Loftin added 12 points, 7 rebounds, and had an assist, a steal, a deflection, a blocked shot, and took a charge. Sky McMullan had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She also had 4 steals, 3 deflections, and an assist. Jessie Kate Cobb and Renee Prosperie had 2 points each and were both huge on the boards, with Cobb pulling down 11 rebounds and Prosperie pulling down 10 rebounds.

On the boys side, the Rebels defeated Prentiss Christian 58-43 in the first round. Senior Ty Jones had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 deflection. Senior Denver Williams added 9 points, 14 rebounds, 2 deflections, a steal, and a blocked shot. Junior Ben Almond had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Senior Reagan Huddleston added 7 points, 7 rebounds, 5 deflections, an assist, and took a charge. Senior Caden Long had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 deflection, while junior Thad Bates had 5 points and 3 rebounds. The Rebels knew going into the quarterfinals it was going to be a battle since they played Delta on their home court, and they were right. Delta defeated the Rebels 60-46 to end their amazing season. Ty Jones had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 deflections, and took a charge. Caden Long added 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 deflection, and 1 blocked shot. Ben Almond added 9 points, 3 deflections, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Reagan Huddleston added 2 points, 3 steals, and one each of deflections, assists, and rebounds. Denver Williams did not score, but he pulled down 6 rebounds and had 9 deflections in his last basketball game as a Rebel.

The Rebel Nation is so proud of Coach Ty Hester, Coach Rebecca Prosperie, and all of our Rebels and Lady Rebels for their dedication to the sport of basketball. Thanks for a wonderful year!