Olive Branch wins 2026 MHSAA Class 6A Girls Basketball Championship

Game summary by ChatGPT

Olive Branch High School rallied from an early 7-point deficit and edged Neshoba Central High School 58-57 on Thursday, March 5, 2026, in the MHSAA Class 7A girls championship game. Olive Branch trailed 15-8 after one quarter, cut the margin to 26-25 by halftime, then survived a back-and-forth fourth quarter to close it out.

Jayde Matthews scored 17 points and hit 5 3-pointers for Olive Branch, while Caleigh Nix added 16 points and Chloe Dorsey finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Vadaija Pimpton chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds as Olive Branch posted a 40-27 rebounding advantage.

Neshoba Central got 17 points from Jiar Henry, 10 from Shastyn Lewis and 9 from Kyli Truss. Lailah Henry added 8 points, and Neshoba Central stayed close by shooting 21 of 51 from the field.

The game turned in the final 1:33. Truss hit a 3-pointer to give Neshoba Central a 52-51 lead, but Nix answered with a 3 of her own with 1:12 left for a 54-52 Olive Branch edge. After Jiar Henry tied it at 54-all from the foul line, Nix scored again with 38 seconds remaining, then hit two free throws with 6 seconds left to make it 58-54. Jiar Henry’s 3-pointer at the buzzer accounted for the final margin.