By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

ST. MARTIN — The biggest girls’ game Tuesday night in the “Southern Six” as league play resumes features St. Martin hosting Biloxi in an important Region 4-7A contest.
It’s the first meeting of the season between the pair of long-time league foes and neighboring rivals, as the Lady Indians come into the contest at an impressive 17-2 overall and leading the region race at 3-0 while the much-improved Lady Yellow Jackets sit 14-4 overall and 2-1 in the loop.

“We are excited to get back into district play,” Biloxi seventh-year head coach Devin Hill said. “At the end of the day, these are the games that matter and hopefully we can continue to play well and win. Our district is full of competitive teams and St. Martin is right there at the top. They have a really good team and play really fast. We will have to be at the top of our game tonight for sure! But, we are looking forward to the challenge.”
The Lady Indians are coming off a split of two games last week, as they beat South Panola on Saturday 38-28 in the prestigious “Tangle on the Trail” Tournament in Pontotoc following a close 43-41 loss to then-unbeaten Hancock on the road on Thursday. Zaniya Johnson posted a triple-double in the win, as she scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.

St. Martin, on the other hand, has played just once in the past in the past 19 days as they beat visiting Moss Point 41-25 Friday upon coming off a 15-day holiday break.
The Lady Yellow Jackets, under the direction of second-year head coach Jason Kennedy, enter the game Tuesday night on a four-game win streak and they have won nine out of their past 11 games.
“We are excited to take the court tonight against an extremely talented group,” Kennedy said. “Anytime you get a chance to compete against a top ranked player in the country it’s fun to see how you stack up. Our girls have been working really hard this season and this is a chance to potentially knock off a top 5 team.”
With one more win, St. Martin will tie its overall win total from last year when it went 15-13.

The Lady Yellow Jackets didn’t win a region game last season, going 0-8 in league play. But Kennedy’s team started turning the corner a bit toward the end of last season in the Region 7-6A Tournament when they barely missed earning a South State playoff spot after falling in a pair of close contests in the region tourney with a 45-42 loss to Pascagoula as well as a 37-34 decision to top-seed D’Iberville.
In other Region 4-7A girls’ action Tuesday night, Harrison Central hosts D’Iberville and Ocean Springs travels to Gulfport.