[3/2/05].

Basketball is a cruel game. If it weren’t, Warren Central would still be practicing for Friday’s Class 5A state tournament game against Moss Point.

It’s been five days since the Lady Vikes’ exit from the Class 5A North State tournament with an overtime loss to Greenville.

The game stayed close the entire way and had four critical calls in the final seconds of regulation gone WC’s way, who knows how far the Lady Vikes would have gone?.

This is not an indictment of the officiating crew. As WC coach Donny Fuller said, &#8220It wasn’t the officiating that beat us, it was free-throw shooting.” This is also not an apology to why WC should be moving on.

What this is, is an attempt to show that the basketball gods had looked down and decreed that it just wasn’t the Lady Vikes’ night.

To refresh your memory: Warren Central led by two points with 4.8 seconds to play in regulation with a trip to the Mississippi Coliseum hanging in the balance. Greenville inbounded the ball to quick guard Tiarra Jackson, who weaved past a defender on her end of the court, drove to the basket, dribbled around her back, weaved by another defender and scooped in a tying shot. Greenville then went on to win in overtime.

But what if…?