By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

KILN — Coming off of one of the most anticipated girls’ prep basketball games in South Mississippi, both unbeaten Hancock and Biloxi head to the north part of the state when they return to the court this weekend.

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Both the Lady Hawks and Lady Indians will participate in the ninth annual “Tangle on the Trail” at Pontotoc High School on Saturday. The Lady Hawks will meet Hoover, Ala., at 1:45 in the afternoon while the Lady Indians will “tangle” with South Panola in the final and featured night contest of the event at 8 p.m., Saturday night.

The annual affair features nine games with teams from three different states and tip-off for game one is set for 10 a.m. Admission is $10 cash at the door only. No one will be allowed to live stream the event or any single games.
Hancock sits a perfect 17-0 and Biloxi an impressive 16-2 overall after the thrilling 43-41 win by the Lady Hawks Thursday night at Wendell Ladner Gymnasium. The contest marked the only meeting between the two “Southern Six” powers this season.

” It is definitely a premiere event in the state,” Biloxi seventh-year head coach Devin Hill said, of the Tangle on the Trail. “We are grateful to be invited back this year. We face a South Panola team that is ranked seventh in the state. They are super athletic and have good size. It will be a good challenge for us, as we get ready to dive back into division play. I am anxious to see how we respond after dropping our game last night to Hancock. I expect us to compete at a high level.”

Hoover High, Hancock’s foe on Saturday, stands is a traditional power in the state of Alabama and has won three consecutive Class Class 7A state championships as well as four of the last five titles.
The Lady Bucs were 12-5 overall on the season Friday heading into a district match-up with Thompson High. Hoover has won nine state championships since 2001.

Hoover is coming off three straight wins in the prestigious “Ball and Prep” Holiday Classic last week.
Other teams involved in Saturday’s “Tangle on the Trail” include the host team in powerful Pontotoc which stands 16-1 on the season. The Lady Warriors face Starkville which has also lost just one game standing 15-1 on the season. That game follows the Hancock-Hoover contest.

In the final game, Hill’s Lady Indians face South Panola as the Lady Indians look to rebound from just their second loss this season in 18 outings. South Panola also has just a pair of losses and sits at 11-2 overall.