CLINTON — A flat performance knocked the Warren Central Lady Vikes out of first place in the Division 4-6A standings Tuesday night.

The Lady Vikes (11-4, 1-1) made just 13 of 44 shots from the field, hit 5 of 14 from the free throw line and also yielded 18 turnovers in a 49-36 loss.

Clinton dropped in six 3-pointers and then made 10 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter to extinguish any WC comeback hopes.

First-year Lady Vikes’ coach Jackie Martin-Glass was puzzled why her team played badly after entering the contest with a six-game win streak.

“We were flat, but we still got some good looks. We just didn’t play very smart. We gambled too much against their guards. It was like going to the casino — when you lose,  it hurts bad,” Martin-Glass said.

Warren Central tried to swipe passes instead of marking the Lady Arrows’ sharpshooters Antonekia Williams and Erica Robinson. Williams knocked down two treys in the second quarter while Robinson had big 3-pointers in the second and fourth quarters. Kim Montgomery also dropped in a pair of 3-pointers.

Four of the treys came in the second quarter as Clinton broke loose from a two-point game to take a 29-17 halftime lead. The Lady Arrows (13-6, 1-0) made five of nine of their 3-point attempts and were 10 for 23 from the field in the first half.

Warren Central, meanwhile, made just two shots in the second quarter and faced a big deficit to start the second half. Clinton opened the door for a comeback with three straight turnovers and four missed shots in the first four minutes of the third quarter.

“We couldn’t convert on anything. And then we got frustrated,” Martin-Glass said.

Clinton coach Felicia Lofton credited her team’s defense.

“I think we did a good job of clogging up the lane and getting some turnovers,” Lofton said. “We also had a cushion to play with. We got some good looks in the second quarter and got a lead after a pretty tight first quarter.”

Clinton scored just three points in the third quarter, but WC had six turnovers and missed six shots and trailed 32-22 going to the fourth,

The Lady Vikes got it to eight at 34-26 but Robinson’s last trey with five minutes left put the lead back to 12. The Lady Arrows then sealed it at the free throw line.

Williams led Clinton with 15 while Younger had 12.

WC was led by Michelle Jones with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

(B) Clinton 56, WC 42

Clinton used an 11-0 run to erase a 31-27 early third quarter deficit and beat the Vikings (2-14, 0-2) in its division opener.

Warren Central was hurt by poor shooting and turnovers as the Arrows (8-11, 1-0) switched to a zone defense in the second half. After making 11 of 27 shots in the first half, including four, 3-pointers, WC made just five field goals in the second half. Only one was a 3-pointer.

“Too many turnovers and I considered air balls turnovers, too,” WC coach Jesse Johnson said. “We had good looks at the basket, we just couldn’t even hit the rim.”

Jeremy Harper scored 11 points in the first half but was held to no points and just one assist in the second half for WC. Eric Hall led the Vikings with 12 points and B.J. Williams had 10 points. Harper also had four assists and four steals.

Clinton was led by Dominic Davis and Terrence Staten with 14 each. Davis and Staten combined for 21 points in the second half, including a pair of field goals to start the fourth quarter to fuel an 8-0 run that boosted a four-point spread to 12 to finish off the Vikings.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com