By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
JACKSON — The third time was not the charm for the Biloxi girls basketball team against perennial state power Starkville Tuesday night.
The Lady Yellow Jackets beat the Lady Indians for the third straight time in the past one year and one week, with a 41-34 come-from-behind upset in the Class 7A South State overall Final Four semifinal round here at the Mississippi Coliseum.
Starkville, which trailed by 11 points mid-way through the third quarter, out-scored Biloxi 14-2 in the fourth period including a 9-0 span down the stretch in the final two minutes to pull out the stunning win over Biloxi for the second straight season in this round.

The Lady Yellow Jackets move to 30-3 overall, and will meet Harrison Central in the Class 7A state championship contest Friday night at 6 p.m., here at The Big House.
Biloxi ends an impressive campaign at 30-2, and the loss ends a school record 29-game win streak. The only other defeat for the Lady Indians this year also came at the hands of Starkville, 46-33 back on Nov. 8th in the second game of the season.
Southern Miss signee Jada Gay, the “Class 7A Miss Basketball” in the state, scored nine of her game-high 17 points in the final 12 minutes of the game to lead the comeback effort.

The Lady Yellow Jackets defense held 6-foot-5 Biloxi standout junior Dandy Dozen center Zaniya Johnson to just six points all game, but her final points were also the last ones for the Lady Indiians when she went inside for a basket with just over three minutes to play.
But from there, it was all Starkville, as Gay tallied two baskets and the Lady Yellow Jackets converted two Biloxi turnovers into points on the other end to wrap things up.
Gay’s 17 points paced SHS, while Jade Brown added 10 points to the winning effort.
Biloxi was led by junior sharp-shooting guard Jayla Carriere, who tallied all 16 of her points, including a trio of 3-pointers, in the first three and one/half quarters. Her back-to-back treys early in the third frame gave BHS that double digit lead at 29-18.

Na’kenya Terry had nine points for BHS also. Johnson, who has posted almost 40 double-doubles over the past two seasons, finished with those six points and four rebounds.
She was held scoreless until the two minute mark of the second stanza.

Starkville is looking for its sixth state title overall, and third in the past nine years.