By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

GULFPORT — Biloxi’s sophomore Jayla Carriere sank three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to hold off a scrappy Gulfport Lady Admirals basketball team on their way to a 40-36 win on Friday.

Biloxi led by three at the end of three quarters, but Gulfport scored twice to regain the lead at 28-26 early in the period. Biloxi’s sophomore star center Zaniya Johnson scored on a layup to tie the game at 28-28.

Carriere’s first 3-pointer of the period came on the Lady Indians’ next possession as she broke the tie to give them the lead at 31-28. Gulfport’s M.J. Avery responded on their next possession with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 31-31.

Carriere broke the tie two possessions later with her second three of the quarter from the left corner to give the Lady Indians a 34-31 lead. Then, on Biloxi’s next possession, she sank her final three of the game from the right corner, giving the Lady Indians a 37-31 lead with just under four minutes to play.

“We took a lot of them (3-pointers),” said Biloxi coach Devin Hill. “They baited us into taking a lot of uncharacteristic shots, and we were dumb enough to shoot them.

“Thank God she made them,” said Hill. “If I’m being honest, but I don’t take nothing from them, but we just settled. When shots aren’t falling, and they’re doubling our bigs, there’s always gaps in the zone. All you have to do is drive it.”

Biloxi’s defense turned it up a notch midway through the fourth quarter, stealing the ball from the Lady Admirals on consecutive two possessions, and forcing an errant pass out of bounds on their next possession. Zaniya Johnson scored on a layup, capitalizing on that turnover to give them their biggest lead of the game at 39-31.

Gulfport would score on their next two possessions, first on an Ashlyn Casey 3-pointer, then on a 12-foot jumper by Kamyra Rockingham to pull within 3 of Biloxi (39-36) with 45 seconds left in the game.

From that point, Biloxi’s Aaliyah Davison handled the ball for the Lady Indians, and she was fouled on three consecutive possessions. She sank one of six free throws, closing out the game’s scoring.

“Great effort,” said Gulfport coach Marcus Price. “Great environment. The biggest crowd we’ve had all year. The kids were up for the challenge. We played good defense and stuck to our game plan.”

Biloxi improved to to 20-0 (5-0, region), while Gulfport’s record moved to 9-10 (2-3, region).

Carriere led Biloxi with 15 points, on five threes. Johnson powered in 12 points. Avery and Casey led Gulfport with 9 point each. Shamiya Walker added 8 points for the Lady Admirals.

Biloxi hosts Booker T. Washington on Saturday, and plays at Harrison Central on Tuesday. Gulfport hosts St. Martin on Tuesday.