Central Holmes' magical run came to an abrupt end last week with a pair of losses in the Class AA state tournament.
The Lady Trojans beat Centreville 46-44 in the opening round before losing to Brookhaven 53-46 in the semifinals to snap a 23-game winning streak.
Then the Lady Trojans lost 60-39 to Manchester in the consolation game to finish fourth in the state.
“I’m very proud of them,” Central Holmes coach Niki Edwards said. “This program has come a long way. Finishing fourth in the state was a big accomplishment. We lost two seniors and both of them are post players. All of our guards will be juniors next year. I am excited about the next two years.”
The Lady Trojans finished with a 27-5 record.
Central Holmes 46, Centreville 44
The Lady Trojans needed a last-second shot from Mckaylee Polk as they took a two-point win over Centreville in the opening round of the Class A State Tournament last week.
Centreville led for most of the first half as they led 8-7 at the end of the first and outscored the Lady Tigers 16-11 in the second to lead 24-18 at the half. Central Holmes came out firing in the third, outscoring Centreville 20-8 to take a 38-32 lead into the fourth.
Centreville led by as many as five points with 1:30 left in the game but the Central Holmes press allowed the Lady Trojans to tighten the game.
The Lady Trojans then had an inbound play with four seconds left on the clock as Polk drained a 3-pointer from the left side to take the win as time expired.
Polk led the Lady Trojans with 14 points.
Brookhaven Academy 53, Central Holmes 46
The Lady Trojans ran into the always tough Lady Cougars in the semifinals and lost a seven-point contest to snap their winning streak.
Brookhaven led 12-10 at the end of the first and outscored Central Holmes 21-14 to lead 33-24 at the half. Central Holmes cut into the deficit in the third as they outscored Brookhaven 12-7 to cut the lead to 40-36 going into the fourth. But the Lady Trojans were outscored 12-8 in the final frame for the final margin.
Breann Bell led Central Holmes with 15 points.
Manchester Academy 60, Central Holmes 39
After beating the Lady Mavericks for the North AA title, Manchester got its revenge as it beat the Lady Trojans in the consolation game on Saturday.
Manchester led 15-10 at the end of the first and outscored Central Holmes 20-6 in the second to take a 35-16 lead at the half. Manchester extended its lead in the third, outscoring Central Holmes 17-15 to take a 52-31 lead into the fourth, where each team scored eight points.
Breann Bell led Central Holmes with 15 points.
