Both Columbia teams had a rough go of it in the final week of the regular season as they dropped both of their games going into the Region 7-4A Tournament.
The Lady Wildcats (2-18, 1-7) had a chance at victory Feb. 1 at Poplarville but couldn’t get it done at the charity stripe in a 44-31 loss.
“Against Poplarville, we played better but just didn’t capitalize at the free throw line. We missed 20 free throws to lose that one,” head coach Charlie James said.
Then in the regular season finale at Lawrence County Friday, the Lady Wildcats struggled offensively and lost 57-25.
“We played well early, but we just couldn’t capitalize because we kept missing easy ones. By missing little easy ones, they were able to put some separation between us and overtake us,” James said. “I think if we could have capitalized on those easy ones early, it would have been a different game. We just dug ourselves a hole and couldn’t overcome it.”
The Lady Wildcats played Poplarville in a rematch Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the district tournament, but results were unavailable at press time. With a playoff berth on the line, James said before the game he “most definitely” believes the Lady Wildcats are capable of beating Poplarville if they can play up to their potential for the entire game.
With a win over Poplarville, the Lady Wildcats would play Purvis in the second round Thursday night at 7.
The Wildcats (6-14, 3-7) continued to be extremely competitive in district play but couldn’t get over the hump with back-to-back losses. They lost 49-42 at Poplarville Feb. 1 and 64-54 at Lawrence County Friday.
In the first round of the 7-4A Tournament, the Wildcats played Poplarville as well Tuesday night, but results were unavailable at press time. A win over Poplarville would send Columbia to the playoffs and into the second round of the district tournament, where they would face Forrest County AHS Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Wildcats head coach Jordan Dupuy could not be reached for comment.
