By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

KILN — When a high school basketball team sits at an impressive 30-1 they usually don’t have to worry about facing an opponent with as good of a record as they have.
But Hancock does.
And, when a high school basketball team has amassed 30 wins in a single season that team normally doesn’t have to worry about facing an opponent that has a longer win streak than they do.
But Hancock does.
Also, when a high school basketball team has won 46 out of its last 50 games over a two year span that team usually doesn’t have to face another team that has accomplished the same thing.
But Hancock Does.

Yes, the powerful Hancock Lady Hawks will tangle with the equally powerful Neshoba Central Lady Rockets on Wednesday afternoon in the Class 6A Final Four as the Overall State Basketball Tournament gets started this week.
Hancock and NCHS will face off at 5:30 in the second Class 6A semifinal game in what has become one of the most highly anticipated match-ups this season in prep basketball circles around the state of Mississippi.

So, it seems only fitting that the huge match-up will be contested in the Big House with a trip to the state title tilt on the line.
In its latest outing Friday afternoon, Hancock hammered Jackson Forrest Hill 74-45 in the Class 6A Elite Eight in Perkinston at Dantzler Arena on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Veteran head coach Jamie Sisco’s crew has won 57 out of its last 61 games.
“Incredible performance by our team,” Sisco said, minutes after the big win. “We are a team-first program and have a team-first mentality, but we knew there were some individual battles we had to win tonight. Our players answered the challenge and then some. I can’t say enough about the toughness and mentality of our team. On to the next one.”
Both squads come in with spectacular 30-1 overall records, and while Hancock has won 13 straight games Neshoba Central doubled that streak up with 28 consecutive wins.
Both teams have won 46 out of their past 50 games as well. However, Hancock has not lost to an opponent from the state of Mississippi in over a year, as the lone blemish on the Lady Hawks’ record this year came in a close three-point decision 44-41 to perennial Alabama Class 7A power Hoover High back at the prestigious “Tangle on the Trail” event in Pontotoc in early January.
The only loss of the season for the Lady Rockets came in early November in their third game of the year to Class 7A power Starkville 72-63. Neshoba Central has 88 out of its past 95 games over the past three seasons.

Neshoba Central went 33-0 two years ago and captured the Class 5A state championship under then and current head coach Jason Broom. It was the second state title in six seasons for NCHS, after they won it in 20017 as well. That title was the first one in 26 years, though.
Hancock is looking for its fourth state title overall and its first state crown in 20 years, since 2004.
Through the past 13 games for each team, they both have posted some staggering point differentials in wins over their opponents. The Lady Hawks have won 13 straight games by an average of 25 points per game, including wins by margins of 44 points over Picayune (68-24), 40 points over Long Beach (54-14) and 34 points over Davidson High (66-32) of Mobile, Ala.
But wait. Neshoba Central has posted even more alarming win margins over that span. The Lady Rockets have averaged a point differential of over 45 points per game over their past 14 games including a 66-point win over Warren Central 84-18 as well as an 86-20 decision over that same team and a 67-16 win over Columbus.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will meet the survivor of the South Panola (22-3) vs. Terry (24-6) game Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m for all the marbles. Terry and SPHS meet in the first semifinal affair on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.