Coming off of a key 64-63 victory over Wesson Dec. 30, the Lady Trojans dropped the ball in their second Region 8-3A contest of the year last week.
West Marion (12-5, 2-1) learned the hard way that it can’t just expect to win as it lost to Jeff Davis County 64-55 Jan. 4 on the road. Head coach Calvin “Scope” Newsome said the Lady Trojans took JDC for granted after witnessing the Lady Jaguars lose by 53 points to Harrison Central in the East Marion Holiday Classic.
“We took them for granted and thought we were going to see that same bad game. I told them they can never take anyone for granted because they want to beat you,” he said. “We’re the top team in the district now, so people want to beat us. We have to come prepared and have our A-game.”
He added it also didn’t help that West Marion shot just 3-of-14 from the charity stripe and missed several easy layups, including one costly one late in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Trojans rebounded, though, at Perry Central Friday night with a 58-36 win that improved West Marion’s district record to 2-1.
“Perry Central is a little down right now, and we just outmanned them. It was one of those games where you’re supposed to win it,” Newsome said. “They didn’t have many athletes and only had one or two players who could actually play.”
The goal since the beginning of the season has been to win district, and Newsome said he believes the Lady Trojans have the caliber of players to achieve that.
“It’s just a matter of them believing in it and then accomplishing it,” he said. “I think they understand now they can’t take a team for granted. After taking that loss, they said they weren’t going to take anyone for granted anymore. I’d rather have that loss now to one of the top teams than to have it in the district tournament. There’s a good thing that came out of that loss. It doesn’t help your record, but records don’t mean anything when you’re ready to go to Jackson.”
West Marion played host to St. Patrick Tuesday night, but results were unavailable at press time. The Lady Trojans will travel to Our Lady Academy Friday and Tylertown on Tuesday.
Last week, West Marion junior Raven Jones was named an All-Star and will play in the North/South All-Star Game in the spring. Newsome said he’s elated for her and her family, as well as the school, for being chosen. He added he isn’t aware of any previous West Marion player being selected.
