(Editors Note: Janice Lawrence is part of the first-ever George County High School Athletics Hall of Fame class that will be honored Saturday night This is the second of a four pat series on the inaugural class.)

By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
As the month of February came to a close in 1979, the two-time defending Class AA state champion Harrison Central girls faced South Mississippi rival George County for the sixth time that season on the hardwood but the final meeting came on the biggest stage yet as the Red Rebelettes and Lady Rebels clashed once again in the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson for the Gold Ball.
Harrison Central defended its crown before a crowd of several thousand fans that Saturday night with an exciting 55-50 win over George County in a battle between two of the most celebrated female prep basketball players ever to take the court in the state of Mississippi.
The contest was a harbinger of things to come, as the same two teams met a year later in the title tilt again with HCHS coming out on top 50-48.

In the 1979 championship contest, George County junior center Janice Lawrence tallied a game-high 22 points in that game, while Harrison Central junior center Eugenia Conner led her team with 17 points. The point total was eight below Lawrence’s season long average of 30 points per game, which led the state of Mississippi.
The win gave HCHS its third consecutive Class AA state title, after GCHS won it in 1976 under legendary coach Rudolph Sellers. But it was just one win in a state championship streak for the Red Rebelettes that spanned seven seasons as they brought home a Gold Ball each year from 1977-1983, which is still the longest state title streak in the “Southern Six”.
Harrison Central finished the 1979 season at an impressive 37-2 overall with four wins over the Lady Rebels while George County went 31-6 and handed HCHS both of its losses that season.
The biggest difference in the title tilt was Conner’s supporting cast that night and that season. Senior guard Sandra Saucier added 14 points for HCHS, including four straight key free throws she calmly converted in the final :20 seconds of play. Cynthia King chipped in 12 points to the winning effort as well, while Nancy Lee dished out seven assists for HCHS.

Point guard Cammie Brannan had 10 points behind Lawrence’s game-high 22 points. Lady Rebel standout Sharon Nix was hampered by foul trouble all night and had five assists but scored just two points, well below her 15 points per game average.
Lawrence was coming off a pair of outstanding playoff performances, as she posted a 36-points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots worksheet in a 54-53 semifinal win over Itawamba that followed a career-high 49-point outing in a 58-52 win over Jackson Provine.
She also poured in 38 points in a 46-34 state tournament win over Brookhaven in Jackson as well out-scoring the Lady Panthers all by herself in the process.
Conner posted a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds in a 53-39 win over South Jones in the Class AA Final Four semifinal round.
Conner went on to win two more state titles her junior and senior seasons at HCHS, while Lawrence was honored as a Prep All-American her senior season as well as a Parade All-American but a Gold Ball still eluded her and her teammates.
In the 50-48 win for HCHS in the title game the following season, the senior Lawrence tallied a game-high 29 points and the junior Conner paced HCHS with 24 points.

Lawrence was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation her senior season, and signed a scholarship with then perennial national power Louisiana Tech. She went on to be named the Most Outstanding Player in the 1982 NCAA national championship game as Tech won the first ever NCAA title, and she guided the Lady Techsters to a 130-6 record in four seasons. She also led the Lady Techsters to the 1981 AIAW National Championship.
Lawrence went on to be inducted into the Women’s College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and won a Gold Medal with the USA team in the 1984 Summer Olympics. She posted a double-double in the title game against Korea in an 85-55 romp with 14 points and 12 rebounds as the USA went unbeaten in Los Angeles that Summer. She played professionally overseas in Italy for 15 years.

Conner, who won three straight state titles under three different head coaches at HCHS, signed with Ole Miss and went on to a stellar collegiate career as well.
After leading Harrison Central to a record of 155-9, she moved on to Oxford and while playing for one of her former HCHS head coaches in Van Chancellor she was the leading scorer and an All-Southeastern Conference performer on four NCAA Tournament teams that won 106 games, while losing but 20. She also played professionally overseas before dying at age 30 in 1994.