Mississippi Girls Finals: NWR stays dominate; Stone makes history

Mississippi was the first state to crown champions this winter. Here are recaps from the title matches: <strong>6A: Northwest Rankin Lady Cougars 2, Clinton Lady Arrows 0</strong> Northwest Rankin and Clinton are no strangers when it comes to competing against each other. Both teams have players that play with and against each other year-round. The Lady Cougars were able to get on the board when junior Lily Lyle was able to slide a ball past the keeper off a deflection around the 4-minute mark of the contest. It was not long after Lyle goal, the Lady Arrows gave away a free kick to Abbi Hornke who was able to capitalize from 35 yards out. The Lady Arrows did not go out easily and continued to apply pressure but were unable to find the back of the net. With her early goal, Lyle picked up the most valuable player honors. Northwest Rankin finished the season at 22-1-2 and Clinton finished 11-7-2. <strong>5A: Florence Lady Eagles 3, Lafayette Lady Commodores 2</strong> In a game that went back and forth and saw two powerhouses in their classification this match-up was one of the better 80-minute matches of the day and was not lacking in goals. Florence was looking to go back-to-back after moving up a classification from 4A to 5A. The higher classification did not prove to be an issue for the Lady Eagles. Lafayette scored first when Caroline Perkins scored off a free kick with 18 minutes left in the first half. Florence was able to answer the early score just two minutes later when Southern Mississippi signee Shaelynn Quick found the back of the net off a corner kick. Florence came out with a purpose in the second half and was able to score and take a 2-1 lead when junior Christina Guzman capitalized on a pass from Quick. Midway through the second half, Florence extended when junior Addie Grace Barnard scored stretching the lead to 3-1.  The Commodores were able to close the gap when Hudson Lindsay finished a PK opportunity with just under 19 minutes to play making the score 3-2. Florence was able to hold on to the 3-2 lead to win the 5A state championship. Quick was named the game's most valuable player. Florence Lady Eagle finished the season 22-1. Layfayette finished the season 18-4. <img class="size-medium wp-image-38912 alignright" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/02/trophy-1-259x300.png" alt="" width="259" height="300" /> <strong>4A: Stone Lady Tomcats 4, New Albany Bulldogs 0</strong> In the only game of the weekend that saw two newcomers in the championship game, one team was going to win its first state title in school history. However, the Lady Tomcats played as if they have been on this stage before.  They were able to score at will against the Lady Bulldogs. Just five minutes into the game Morgan Pickering scored for Stone to make it 1-0. Baelynn Smith stretched the lead to 2-0 after receiving a pass from Pickering and finding the back of the net in front of goal. Sophomore sisters Caroline Batson and Mary Grace Batson found the back of the net in the second half to extend the lead to 4-0. The Lady Tomcat defense did not disappoint either, only allowing the Lady Bulldogs to three shots during the match. The Lady Tomcats were able to make school history by winning their first state championship and finishing the season 16-6-1. Pickering was named the game's most valuable player.  New Albany finished the season 18-8. <strong>1/2/3A: Our Lady Academy 2, St. Andrew’s 1 (PKs)</strong> In a game that saw two teams that have a plethora of state championships, this was the only game of the weekend that went into PKs to decide the winner. Right out the gates, the Our Lady Academy was able to find the back of the net when sophomore Kennedy Leverett scored just two minutes into the contest.  Both teams settled down defensibly moving forward as the game went into halftime 1-0. St. Andrew’s would apply pressure offensively in the second half and would eventually tie things up at 1-1 when junior Gigi Fraser had her shot deflect off a Lady Crescent player for an own goal. As the game progressed and St. Andrew's kept applying pressure, in fact, it had two goals waved off for offside and off the ball foul. Both teams would battle an extra 30 minutes to a 1-1 tie and see the game be decided in PKs. Both teams were able to capitalize on their first four tries from the spot. However, in the end, Leverett was able to find success with her kick from the spot, whereas Lady Crescents keeper Alexi Ladner made a great diving attempt to keep the Lady Saints from pushing the contest to a six PK shot. Leverett was named the game's most valuable player and the Crescent won their first championship in 10 years, finishing 12-5-2. St. Andrew’s Lady Saints finished the season 12-5-2.