Meridian edges Dongola 39-36 at SEC tourney

Meridian defeated Dongola 39-36 in overtime in first-round action of the South Egyptian Conference high school girls’ basketball tournament at Joppa Monday, Jan. 23.

The Lady Demons led 8-5 after one quarter and 18-9 at halftime.

The Lady Bobcats outscored Dongola 15-6 in the third quarter to tie the game 24-24 tie heading into the final quarter.

The score was tied 32-32 at the end of regulation. Meridian outscored the Lady Demons 7-4 in overtime.

Emily Terbrak scored 11 points to lead Dongola. Michaela Penrod  added 10 points, Reba Robinson 8, Victoria Shirkey 5 and Brittney Hinkle 2.

Shawnee, the top seed, had a first-round bye. Cobden was to have played Joppa and Century was to have played Egyptian on Tuesday.

Shawnee was scheduled to have played Meridian on Wednesday. The other semi-final game is scheduled for Thursday, tonight.

The conference tournament will conclude Saturday, Jan. 28. The fifth-place game is set for 5 p.m., the third-place game is set for 6:30 p.m. and the championship is set for 8 p.m.