By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

GULFPORT — St. Patrick junior standout Alex Patino gets the “Baria Law Firm Game Ball of the Week” this week.

Every week throughout the end of the school year, we will honor student/athletes across the “Southern Six” with our “Game Ball of the Week” sponsored by David Baria, Attorney-Mediator.

Patino, who was recently selected to play for the South Squad in the annual Mississippi Sports Medicine North/South All-Star Basketball game upcoming in March, showed exactly why she’s considered one of the best players in this part of the state over the past week.

Tuesday night, Patino poured in a game and career high 45 points in a 72-54 upset win on the road over arch-rival OLA in Region 8-3A play. The win was the second straight in league play for the Lady Irish, and moved them above the .500 mark overall at 13-12 as well as to 3-5 in the region race.

In addition to compiling one out the most prolific scoring outputs in SPHS basketball history, she also added five rebounds, four steals and three assists to the game-winning attack and she had one blocked shot.

Prior to that, Patino tallied a game-high 26-points in a 45-36 region win over Tylertown Friday night.

St. Patrick has wrapped up Region 8-3A action. Patino and her Lady Irish teammates face Pearl River Central at home Tuesday night.

The Lady Irish, along with their male counterparts, will host the region tournament in two weeks.

The Baria Law Firm, the Gulf Coast branch of Cosmich, Simmons and Brown, provides a beacon of trust and reliability in a complex legal landscape. Our firm’s unwavering dedication to you is at the core of everything we do. Choose David Baria of Baria Law as your legal ally, and let us handle the details while you focus on what matters most. Reach out to David at 228-395-8303 or dbaria@barialaw.com and at https://barialaw.com.