By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

A pair of Region 7-4A girls’ squads both picked up wins in MLK Day events while one other came up just short as well.

St. Martin and home-standing Gulfport both earned wins over the past few days while Harrison Central suffered just its third loss of the season.

On Monday afternoon, second-year St. Martin head coach Jason Kennedy couldn’t accompany his team to Florida for the MLK Dreamkeepers Tournament at West Florida High School in Pensacola because of a bad case of the flu.

It was his Lady Yellow Jackets, however, that left the opposition feeling poorly.

St.Martin beat Pensacola High 50-44 to move to 16-5 in the event. Kaleah Lowery scored six points in the fourth period as SMHS out-scored PHS 14-11 in the quarter to seal the win.

La’Dymien Lafayette tallied a game-high 15 points to lead the Lady Yellow Jackets, and she was named Most Valuable Player in the game for her efforts. The sophomore standout Lowery chipped in 14 points to the winning effort, while Zee Allen added eight points.

The performance wrapped up a stellar week for Lowery, as she tallied 55 points and collected over 20 rebounds in three games.

Zion Perkins scored 14 for Pensacola High.

On Saturday in Gulfport, the Lady Admirals hosted the inaugural “Girls Grind MLK Classic” at Bert Jenkins Gym.

In the final two games of the day, Harrison Central fell to Northwest Rankin 68-61 and the host team beat Magee 53-42.

Gulfport’s Shamyia Walker was named the Player of the Game, as she posted a double-double with a game-high 23 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. M.J. Avery added seven points to the winning effort for Gulfport, as the Lady Admirals moved to 5-14 overall with the win.

Nicole Sandifer scored 17 for the Lady Trojans.

Harrison Central dropped to 18-3 overall on the year with the loss to the Lady Cougars. 

Malia McCelleis and Nyla Hooten combined for 40 points in the win for Northwest Rankin, as McCelleis tallied a game-high 21 points and Hooten chipped in 19 points to the winning effort. McCelleis was named The Player of the Game for her efforts.

Jayla Carriere paced HCHS with 17 points, while her big sister Anashia Carriere added 16 points and Larissa Hubbard had 12 points and six rebounds.

All three teams were scheduled to return to region play Tuesday night, but all three of those games were postponed a day due to weather issues. So, on Wednesday, St. Martin hosts Gulfport, Biloxi hosts Harrison Central and Ocaen Springs hosts D’Iberville.