Freshman phenom Samone Mallard scored 8 of her game-high 23 points in the pivotal third quarter to help lift #17 seed Jonesboro-Hodge to a rousing 59-52 road victory over #16 Delhi in the first round of the LHSAA Division IV playoffs. 

The first playoff win for the Lady Tigers since the 2021-22 season also marked the first postseason victory in third-year head coach Shan Jackson’s tenure.

With the victory, JHHS, the fourth-place team in District 1-1A, improved to 15-17 overall, while  Delhi, which was the champion of District 2-1A, saw its season end with a 15-15 record.

The Lady Tigers methodically pulled away from Delhi by taking a 13-10 first-quarter advantage and a 26-19 lead at the break. By scoring a quarter’s best 22 points in the third stanza, JHHS took an insurmountable 48-33 bulge heading into the final frame that held up despite a furious rally by the home team. 

JHHS also got big games from Neesha Johnson, who scored 12 points that included a pair of three pointers, and 10 points from Jalenya Jackson. Derryn Osborne also chipped in with six points, all coming in the second half and Sanaa Tatum who finished with four. Jakhorielle Lard and Carmen Livingston also scored two points each. 

UP NEXT! The Lady Tigers will now travel to #1-ranked Midland (25-7) for a 6:00 pm Regional Round contest on Monday, February 23rd. The cost of admission is $10.00 per person. 

The advancement in the playoffs marks the first time since the 2021-22 season that JHHS has moved past the first round, which at that point the Lady Tigers had done for 12 seasons in a row from 2010-2021, which included 8 trips to the Quarterfinals.  advancing to the second round of the LHSAA playoffs, i