By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

OCEAN SPRINGS — A pair of what could turn out to be pretty important league encounters in girl’s play for Region 4-7A are on tap Tuesday night.

First up, new Harrison Central head coach Sandra Rushing returns to her alma mater when she leads her HCHS squad into D’Iberville.

Rushing, a D’Iberville High graduate, came home to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after an extremely successful collegiate coaching career that included stops at Central Arkansas University, Delta State and the University of Texas El-Paso among others. She stepped away from the head job at UCA at the end of the 2023 season after 11 years at the helm of the Sugar Bears.

Rushing finished with 184 career victories at UCA, the second-most in school history, and she has won 587 games over her stellar 34-year head coaching career. Rushing took the Sugar Bears to the NCAA National Tournament twice in 2016 and 2017 and finished second in the 2018 WBI postseason tournament, falling at home to Yale.

Rushing’s teams won the Southland Conference regular season in 2016 and 2017, putting together a combined 54-9 record during that span. They set the school record with 28 victories in 2015-16.

Rushing played collegiately at Alabama from 1982-1986, where she was a four-time Academic All-SEC selection and holds the Crimson Tide’s career free throw percentage record. She left Tuscaloosa after becoming the all-time assist leader for the Lady Tide. She also led the Southeastern Conference in free throw shooting percentage her senior season.

She capped off a standout career at D’Iberville High by averaging almost 20 points per game as a senior while battling a foot injury and still earning that scholarship to Alabama.

She has her first HCHS squad off to a 9-6 overall start and 1-2 in the region race so far.

Also Tuesday night, the Gulfport Lady Admirals head to Ocean Springs.

Gulfport is coming off a 57-53 win over Picayune Friday night.

The Lady Admirals trailed the Lady Tide 36-35 entering the fourth period before out-scoring the visitors 22-17 down the stretch to pull out the win.

Gulfport heads into Hubbard Gym on the OSHS campus at 1-2 in Region 4-7A play and is coming off its first league win over D’iberville three weeks ago.

The Lady Admirals were led by Shamia.Walker with 14 points while M.J. Avery chipped in 13 points to the winning effort and Skyy Bush added 11 points for GHS.

For Picayune, Laikyn Moore tallied a game-high 19 points in the loss while Rhyen Goss added 17 points for the Lady Tide.

Picayune hosts George County Tuesday night in Region 4-6A play.