How's the weather up there?

By Staff
From staff reports
March 6, 2002
The tallest men's player in the Region 23 Tournament is 6-foot-10 sophomore Phillip Freeman of Delgado Community College. Only one inch shorter at 6-foot-9 is Itawamba Community College sophomore Lawrence Mason.
Next in line are Freeman's 6-foot-8 teammates Joe Hickingbottom and Dwight Wilkins and Mississippi Gulf Coast freshman Joplin Johnson.
At 6-foot-7 are Marlon Yates and Jerrick Oliver of Holmes Community College, Larry Parker of Northwest Community College, and Brandon Griffin of Southwest Community College.
The shortest player is 5-foot-7 freshman Avery Ross of Delgado, followed by 5-foot-8 Marcus Johnson of Jones Junior College. At 5-foot-9 are freshmen Jimmy Taylor of Holmes and Ervie Johnson of Itawamba Community College.
Marty Stamper
Women with high pockets
The tallest women in the Region 23 Tournament are 6-foot-2 Meridian Community College teammates Monickia Fresby, Cantea Brown, and Lashawna Canty.
At the other end of the yardstick at 5-foot-3 are Gwen Smith of Copiah-Lincoln and Latasha Gilleylen of Itawamba.
Marty Stamper
Who has the best league?
Mississippi has three teams ranked in the NJCAA women's final basketball poll. Copiah-Lincoln, 24-2, leads the state with a No. 7 ranking. Meridian, 29-2, is No. 12 and Southwest, 20-6, is No. 25.
Meridian and Southwest play in the noon semifinal today at Clinton, while Co-Lin faces Itawamba in the 6 p.m. semifinal.
Texas has five teams in the Top 25. Trinity Valley, 25-2, is No. 5, Midland, 24-4, is No. 9, South Plains, 25-1, is No. 10, Tyler, 24-4, is No. 17, and Weatherford, 23-3, is No. 20.
Florida has four teams in the Top 25. Gulf Coast of Panama City is No. 2 with a 29-0 mark, Okaloosa-Walton, 24-3, is No. 6, Seminole, 20-8, is No. 16, and Daytona Beach, 23-5, is No. 24.
Kansas is pretty stout as well. Seward County, 28-0, is No. 3 and Cowley County, 25-3, is No. 19. Butler County, 25-3, received votes as did 22-3 Hutchinson.
In the No. 1 position is Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College with a perfect 28-0 mark.
Marty Stamper
Getting a big advantage
The Region 6 Tournament is being played at the Bicentennial Center at Salina, Kan., where the 2002 NJCAA Women's Basketball Championship will be played, March 19-23.
Cloud County (Kan.) won last year's Region 6 Tournament at the Bicentennial Center and used it as a springboard to the 2001 NJCAA women's national championship.
This year's Region 6 tournament is scheduled for March 11-13 with updates on the NJCAA Women's Division I web page.
Marty Stamper
Bolton to be guest speaker
McLain native Ruthie Bolton will be the guest speaker at this year's Salina Juco Basketball Blast team banquet which will be held March 18 at 6 p.m. in the Bicentennial Center's Heritage Hall in Salina, Kan.
Bolton plays for the Sacramento Monarchs. She made four NCAA Tournament appearances with Auburn University and advanced to the NCAA Championship Game in both 1989 and 1990.
Bolton is also a two-time Olympian.
Marty Stamper