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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Highlights: Raymond rules at the Mississippi Coliseum. … MC women receive NCAA bid. … Are you ready for some NIT-ology?

High school basketball: Raymond rules in the MHSAA State Tournament. The Ranger and Lady Rangers roll into the finals.

Women’s college basketball: Mississippi College receives NCAA bid. The action begins on Friday in Atlanta.

Men’s college basketball: Jackson State 75, Arkanas-Pine Bluff. The Tigers take a huge victory on the road.

College baseball: The NCAA rewards Nicholls State for running away from Mississippi State. The news hasn’t reached Starkville yet, the phone lines are frozen.

Men’s college basketball: Nitology.com predicts Ole Miss and Mississippi State will be in the NIT. As if we don’t hear enough bad news every day.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.