The second round of the Miss Mississippi preliminary competitions came to a close Thursday night at the Vicksburg Convention Center with Miss Mississippi State University Emmie Perkins winning the Red Carpet phase of the competition and Miss Riverbend Kayla Braswell winning the talent phase.

Perkins said her win in the Red Carpet phase — wearing a dress from Mia Bella Prom and Pageant in Flowood — affirmed her belief that she is capable of doing hard things.

“I’m at a loss for words because this is an incredible feeling,” Perkins said following her win. “I didn’t always have confidence in that aspect of my life in terms of modeling on stage. I’m a representation that someone who’s 5 feet, one inch can be an example for girls out there.

“It doesn’t matter what size you are, what shape you are, what height you are — beauty comes from the inside,” Perkins added. “I truly exuded that tonight, but it took a level of confidence that I’ve gained as I’ve gotten older.”

Braswell, who won the talent phase of the competition with a vocal performance, ran into some technical difficulties in her performance but ultimately described the win as “absolutely amazing.”

“I had dreamt about this for so long, and I can’t believe it’s actually happened tonight,” Braswell said. “It’s part of being a performer — sometimes your microphone works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m actually really thankful that happened to me, because I was always so nervous to perform and I always thought about the outside factors I couldn’t control.

“Having that experience taught me that the one thing I could control about my performance is how I perform and how I feel, so that second chance gave me an opportunity to use what I’d just learned,” she added.

Candidates winning in the Red Carpet phase of the preliminary competition take home a $400 scholarship and candidates winning in talent take home a $500 scholarship.

Preliminary night scoring for each phase of the competition is 35 percent for Private Interview, 15 percent for On-Stage Interview/Social Impact Initiative, 35 percent for Talent and 15 percent for Red Carpet.

The final round of the Miss Mississippi preliminary competitions will be held Friday at the Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Dr. Briggs Hopson Blvd. beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40. The final night of competition and crowning will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday and tickets are $50.

The Miss Mississippi competition is being live-streamed at a cost of $15 a night. Packets are available at missmisslive.com.