By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

KILN — Hancock is hosting a region basketball tournament for the first time in five years.

And, despite being a starter for three seasons now, Lady Hawks senior standout Anslee James will be seeing her first action in the postseason of any kind for HHS.

That’s because James suffered a season-ending knee injury during the month of January in each of the past two years leading into not only the region tourney but the state playoffs as well.

Hancock, which has won 22 straight league games, begins defense of its Region 4-6A Tournament championship Tuesday afternoon against the winner of Monday afternoon’s Picayune-George County contest.

James, a swing guard/forward, has helped her Lady Hawks to an impressive 24-2 record this season in her final campaign at Hancock High. The Lady Hawks have won at least 25 games each of the past three years with James in the line-up most of the time.

She has been a steady force for the Lady Hawks for each of the past two seasons even after both her sophomore and junior years were ended prematurely due to those knee injuries.

She has really made her mark this season, stepping up to fill the void from the loss of super standout Brooklyn Cuevas who is now at William Carey after leading the Lady Hawks as a junior and senior in scoring. James earned Most Valuable Player honors in an impressive 62-39 win over Canton in the opening round of the inaugural “Jungle Balls Classic” at Madison Central High School over the Christmas break as she poured in a game-high 23 points in that contest.

The 5-foot-8 James averaged right at 18 points per game down the stretch of the regular season for Hancock. She is also called upon most nights by head coach Jamie Sisco to guard the top offensive player on the opposing teams as well.

Hancock made it all the way to the overall Class 6A Final Four at The Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson last year before falling in the semifinals to Neshoba Central and finishing the year at 30-2 overall.

Now, as the Lady Hawks aim for a return trip to “The Big House”, James hopes to be a key part of that journey after being denied that opportunity the past two years.

Here are the Region 4-6A Tournament pairings:

Region 4-6A

At Hancock

Boys

Monday

5 p.m. — Picayune vs. George County

8 p.m. — Hancock vs. Long Beach

Tuesday

5 p.m. — Pascagoula vs. Picayune-George County winner

8 p.m. — West Harrison vs. Hancock-Long Beach winner

Friday

5 p.m. — Consolation Game

8 p.m. — Championship Game

Girls

Monday

3:30 p.m. — Picayune vs. George County

6:30 p.m. — West Harrison vs. Long Beach

Tuesday

3:30 p.m. — Hancock vs. Picayune-George County winner

6:30 p.m. — Pascagoula vs. West Harrison-Long Beach winner

Friday

3:30 p.m. — Consolation Game

6:30 p.m. — Championship Game