Lady Arrows basketball team punches ticket to state finals

By Danny C. Davis

It has been a very long time since the Clinton High School basketball Lady Arrows won a MHSAA State Championship trophy.

That last came in 2006 under then-head coach Felicia Loften for the then-Class 5A Trophy, when the current players were just toddlers.

Thanks to a 57-44 playoff win over Horn Lake at the Clinton High gym on February 25, the Lady Arrows are two wins away from another trophy at the Mississippi Coliseum. CHS plays the Meridian Lady Wildcats Wednesday night, March 1, in the MHSAA semi-finals. A win that night will put CHS in the finals on Saturday, March 5.

Third-year Lady Arrow head coach Pearlene Fairley has guided Clinton this season to a district championship – a chance to win it all.

“We felt like we were going to be good this year,” said Fairley, who coached at Pelahatchie High School before coming to Clinton. “But Class 6A was so stacked this year, we knew it would be hard.”

Clinton stated hot right from the start with a 7-0 record. But then came injuries to two of the top starters, junior Kaitlyn Walker and sophomore Taelar Felton, and the Lady Arrows lost four of the next five games. Then, with the starters back, CHS went 14-3, winning the final seven games, including a 71-67 upset win over favored Germantown for the district championship.

One of those four losses with the two starters out was to Meridian, 62-41.

“The team has really jelled and is really playing well right now, with a lot of good chemistry,” said Fairley.

“We feel confident about having a chance to play Meridian again and feel we have a good chance to get to the finals.”

Against Horn Lake, Senior Kenijha led the way with 16 points, while sophomore Taeler Felton scored 14 and senior Arianna Durrel dropped in 10 points. Clinton led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter; but senior starter Kenijha Flowers ran into foul trouble early and had to sit the second quarter, and Horn Lake tightened the score to 23-17 at the half. In the second half, the Lady Arrows took control, scoring 34 points to hold on to win and advance.