After returning to school from the holiday break, all four Marion County girls basketball teams were busy getting back into the swing of things on the hardwood.
Columbia Academy
Columbia Academy (11-8) has been the busiest, playing four games in a five-day span with a pair of wins and a pair of losses.
Last Thursday night, the Lady Cougars struggled to generate consistent offense in a 37-27 loss to Simpson Academy in Magee. Morgan Jones led the Lady Cougars with eight points, while Gabby Sullivan added six.
The following night in McComb, the CA offense generated the same amount of points, but this time it was enough as the Lady Cougars edged Parklane Academy 27-26. Jones led the scoring charge with eight points, followed by Sullivan with seven and Lauren Rowley with six.
Columbia Academy traveled across state lines Saturday night to take on Oak Forest Academy in Amite, La., pulling off an impressive 34-24 victory. Rowley led CA with 15 points, while Sullivan chipped in 13.
However, the Lady Cougars were dragged back to earth Monday night at home, losing 54-32 to Leake Academy. Sullivan led the way with eight points, and Rowley and Madison McNeese each had six.
Columbia Academy hosted Lamar Christian Friday night, but results were not available at press time. The Lady Cougars will stay at home Saturday night, tipping off against Parklane in a rematch at 6.
East Marion
After winning both of its games in the McComb Holiday Tournament convincingly, East Marion (7-7, 1-0) dropped a double-overtime thriller in Wiggins to Stone last Friday night.
After heading into overtime tied 42-42, the two teams each scored nine points in the first overtime period, but the Lady Tomcats outscored the Lady Eagles 11-4 in the second overtime period for a 62-55 win.
Amber Willis stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, six boards, three assists and three steals, while Tytianna Porter had 13 points, six rebounds and three steals. Freshman Lia Smith had an impressive performance as well with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Lady Eagles returned to the winner’s circle Tuesday night at home, picking up a 48-33 win over Lumberton in their district opener.
Porter had the third-highest scoring total of her already illustrious East Marion career, going off for a game-high 24 points. RaQquiya Haynes added 11 points for the Lady Eagles, while Willis chipped in nine.
The Lady Eagles were in Pascagoula Friday night to take on Resurrection Catholic, but results were not available at press time. They will stay on the road Tuesday to take on Sacred Heart at 6 p.m.
West Marion
West Marion (3-12, 0-3) is still a very young team with just two seniors on the roster, and that youth has reared its head through the first half of the season.
Last Thursday night, however, the Lady Trojans put together a solid performance from beginning to end in a commanding 48-19 victory over Salem.
West Marion followed up the victory, though, with a 51-33 home loss to Columbia Friday night and a 64-24 road loss to Tylertown Monday night.
The Lady Trojans were in Bassfield Friday night, taking on Jefferson Davis County, but results were not available at press time. They will return to their home court Tuesday at 6 p.m. to play host to Loyd Star.
Columbia
In the Lady Wildcats big 51-33 road win over West Marion Friday night, Columbia (7-7, 1-1) got off to a scorching start, outscoring the Lady Trojans 16-3 in the opening period and never looked back the rest of the way.
Tyra Conerly pulled off a strange, yet extremely impressive, double-double, leading the Lady Wildcats with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting to go along with an astounding 11 steals. Her previous career high in steals was nine in a 43-30 win over Purvis last January.
Jasmine Sheppard and Jaleel Hartfield added some extra offense for Columbia with 11 and eight points, respectively. Christina James continued to show an impressive down low with six points and a team-high six rebounds.
Ten days after beating Jeff Davis by 20 points in a neutral-site matchup, the Lady Wildcats couldn’t quite claw their way back in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, falling to the Lady Jaguars 65-55. They had a chance late, down just four points and a little more than two minutes left on the clock, but a Jeff Davis corner three followed by a quick steal and layup in transition ended the comeback bid. Jeff Davis outscored Columbia 20-8 in the fourth quarter.
Lady Jaguars senior Azaria Magee was a big reason why Jeff Davis was able to enact revenge on Columbia as she made 16 free throws, along with six field goals, for a 30-point night.
Sheppard was extremely efficient for Columbia, leading the Lady Wildcats with 18 points on 60 percent shooting and made 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Conerly added 16 points, making all three of her shots from behind the arc and 7-of-8 from the line. James had another solid performance with nine points, three boards, two steals and two assists.
Hartfield, however, battled foul trouble all game and struggled to find her footing, which was a big blow for the Lady Wildcats. She had just five points, a season low, on 2-of-3 shooting and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
Columbia was on the road Friday night at Wesson, but results were not available at press time. The Lady Wildcats will be at Tylertown Tuesday night with tipoff scheduled for 6.
Pictured Above: Christina James converts a contested layup against Jeff Davis at home Tuesday night. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
