JACKSON — The Warren Central Lady Vikes showed a few glimpses of solid play Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to put a mark in the win column or a smile on their faces.

Meridian sprinted out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and kept it throughout the game, eventually coasting to a 56-43 victory over Warren Central in the quarterfinals of the Jackson Public Schools Tournament at Forest Hill High School.

“We just didn’t have our heads on straight,” said WC freshman forward DaSha McGloster, who finished with four points. “Didn’t execute like we should have. We just came in and played like an elementary team. We didn’t play like high school students, like we know how to play and how we should play. We didn’t play to our potential and we fell short.”

Kashari Gordon scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter for Meridian (9-5), which advanced to the semifinals on Monday morning.

Warren Central (6-8) got 12 points from T.T. Sims and eight from Coco Fultz, and will play a consolation game Monday before heading into division play Jan. 2 against Greenville.

The Lady Vikes dispatched Wingfield 85-55 in their JPS Tournament opener on Friday, but quickly fell behind against a Meridian team that reached the Class 6A semifinals last season.

After WC scored the first points of the game, Meridian went on a 17-1 run to take control. The Wildcats never let the margin get back into single digits and led by as many as 21 in the third quarter, despite several small surges from Warren Central.

The Lady Vikes cut it to 13 at halftime, to 15 late in the third quarter with a 6-0 run, and closed the game on a 9-2 run to get within 13 again in the final minute. Each time, Meridian scored a basket or two to blunt the momentum and keep the game well in hand.

“Being young and making mistakes early, I think they dropped their head,” said WC coach Jackie Glass, who had five freshmen and two sophomores in the rotation on Saturday. “Once you drop your head, the other team takes advantage of your weakness. I think we showed weakness and made mistakes. I just don’t think we played up to our potential today. We’re better than that.”