By JOSEPH W. GEX II/Sports Writer

Long Beach – The Hancock Lady Hawks remained undefeated in Region 4-6A play with a dominating 62-21 thrashing of the home-standing Lady Bearcats of Long Beach Friday night.

The Lady Hawks (22-2, 8-0) won their 20th consecutive region game in the win, and they also secured the top seed in the upcoming region tournament and the ensuing bye in the opening round of the event.

Hancock jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first period keyed by Talana Bond and Anslee James.

The Lady Bearcats got on the board with a little less than six minutes to play in the first half when Paityn Langley banked in a bucket. 

Hancock went on a 6-0 run in the last 1:07 of the first half to push the score to 39-9.

Riley Bishop ignited the running clock with her turnaround bank shot with 5:55 left in the third period to make the score 46-11. 

James and Bond led the Lady Hawks in the third period with four and five points, respectively, as Hancock enjoyed a 55-15 lead heading into the final frame. 

The Lady Hawks emptied the bench in the final stanza.

Hancock head coach Jamie Sisco commented, “I am proud of the girls and how they played tonight after being out of the gym for four days due to the weather. With a veteran team, a change in schedule shouldn’t bother them. And, that showed tonight.”

Tori Washington led the Lady Bearcats with 8 points while Talana Bond paced Hancock with 18 points followed by Anslee James with 15 points. 

Hancock hosts the region tournament in two weeks. The berth in the semifinals thanks to the opening round bye means that HHS has clinched a berth in the state playoffs as the top four spots in the tourney move on.

Hancock travel to Pascagoula on Monday night to make up a game that was postponed from Tuesday due to inclement weather.