Lady Dawgs beat Wesson, Hazlehurst; FC boys hoops split decisions

Franklin County’s varsity girls basketball program claimed two-straight District 7-3A wins last week — upending Wesson, 59-40, on Tuesday, Jan. 11 and blasting Hazlehurst, 57-19, on Friday, Jan. 14.

Against the Lady Cobras, FC’s Ja’Sharreah Hunt led all game participants with 31 points — 17 of those coming before the mid-game break.

JaKya Brown also finished in double figures for the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points in the outing.

Niyla Wright scored seven for Franklin County while Kennedy Washington tacked on four De’Asia Buie and Saiyon Harris added two each and Harmoni Porter contributed one point.

FC outpaced Wesson, 19-10, in the first frame and held a 36-25 advantage at intermission.

The Lady Cobras charged back with a 12-9 run in the third quarter before Franklin exploded on a 13-3 offensive run in the final eight minutes of regulation.

The Lady Dawgs finished 14-of-30 from the charity stripe against Wesson.

In Friday’s contest against Hazlehurst, Franklin County set the tempo early by outscoring the Lady Indians, 14-4, in both the first and second quarters.

After halftime, the Lady Dawgs pounded out a 20-2 offensive run and held a 48-10 lead going into the final eight minutes of the contest.

The teams ended in a nine-all deadlock in the remaining stanza, but FC’s lead was too much to overcome.

As was the case three nights earlier, FC’s Hunt paced all game participants with 27 points — which included six treys — while Brown added 12 in the winning effort.

Wright finished her night with eight points for the Lady Bulldogs while Buie added four and Porter and Rylei Turner chipped in three each.

At the free throw line, Franklin County shot 7-of-14 against the Lady Indians.

The Lady Bulldogs are now 14-4 overall on the 2021-2022 basketball season while holding a 4-0 record in regional play.
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The Franklin County varsity boys basketball team split two District 7-3A games last week by thumping Wesson, 65-39, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, but dropped a 49-44 heartbreaker to Hazlehurst on Friday, Jan. 14.

Facing off with the Cobras, FC’s offense rolled out to a 19-8 lead in the first quarter before going on a 23-10 tear during the second eight minutes of the contest.

In the third quarter, Wesson charged back with a 13-12 run over Franklin, but the Bulldogs outlasted the Cobras, 11-8, in the fourth frame.

A trio of FC players scored in double figures — with Kobe Marshall leading with 15, Daylen Thomas contributing 14 and Michael Covington adding 13 — for the victory.

In addition, Caleibria McDonald scored nine for FC while Craig Jackson chipped in six and Iverson Hughes, Derrick Wilson and Kentrez Bonds recorded two points each.

Jay Malone and Kepatrick Nimox finished their nights with one point apiece.

The Bulldogs had a 10-of-23 effort from the free throw line against Wesson.

Last Friday, Hazlehurst outpaced FC offensively in three quarters of action — 15 to 11 in the first; 12 to 11 in the second; and 16-12 in the fourth.

The Dawgs, however, did outscore the Indians, 10-4, in the third frame.

FC’s Covington paced his team with a team-high 18 points — a total of six three-pointers — in the loss to Hazlehurst.

Thomas added nine for the Dawgs while McDonald scored six, Marshall and Amarion Wilson added four each, Derrick Wilson drained two points and Bonds finished with one.

FC finished 4-of-9 at the charity stripe against Hazlehurst.

The Bulldogs’ season mark settled to 13-5 on the 2021-22 campaign with the squad now 3-1 in district competition.

The loss to Hazlehurst snapped a three-game winning streak by FC.

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UPCOMING GAMES

Franklin County’s scheduled basketball contests on Tuesday, Jan. 18 against Jefferson County were cancelled due to issues with coronavirus in the Tigers’ program.

Those games officially go down as forfeit wins for Franklin County.

Barring any new virus outbreaks, FC’s varsity hoops teams were slated to travel to Port Gibson on Friday, Jan. 21.

The Dawgs will host Wilkinson County on Tuesday, Jan. 25 and Hazlehurst on Tuesday, Feb. 1 in Meadville.