The six inches of snow in Marion County last Friday was responsible for the cancellation of four games Friday and Saturday, though three of the teams returned to the court Monday and Tuesday.
Columbia
After a close first half, the Lady Wildcats outscored North Forrest by 21 points in the second half of a 64-36 win Tuesday night on the road.
“North Forrest came out and played with a lot of intensity, and we didn’t match the intensity early on,” head coach Charlie James said. “As the game went on, I told the girls they needed to play a little harder, and they did. We went to a three-quarter court pressure and took them out of some of the stuff they were doing, and we were able to get going. Once we were able to match that intensity, we were able to get separation. The last couple of games we’ve come out flat, then come on late. I’m trying to get them to start with that intensity so we don’t have to work so hard throughout the game.”
Last season, it was the Jaleel Hartfield and Tyra Conerly show for the Lady Wildcats as the pair averaged a combined 35.6 points per game out of the Lady Wildcats’ 46.6 points per game as a team. But with the emergence of freshman Jasmine Sheppard, who is averaging 13.3 points over Columbia’s last three games — all wins — it has removed the tremendous burden the dynamic senior duo has carried.
“(Sheppard) has been very vital in some of the success we’ve had early. She really gives Jaleel and Tyra a sense of not having to do it all by themselves,” James said. “They’re starting to develop some confidence in some of the other players. Early on, they had this mindset of having to do it all. With Jasmine playing well over the last few games, it’s really freed them up to concentrate on just playing the game. Christina James, as well, has been a freshman who has stepped up and relieved some of the pressure.”
Hartfield still stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, seven steals, four rebounds, four blocks and three assists, while Conerly had 16 points and five steals. Sheppard added 14 points and five steals, and James had five points and six boards.
The Lady Wildcats will host Petal Tuesday night, then take on East Marion in the East Marion Holiday Tournament on Thursday.
East Marion
The Lady Eagles opened up an early lead in Bassfield Tuesday night, but entered the fourth quarter knotted up at 38-38 and were outscored 20-10 in the fourth quarter for a 58-48 loss to Jefferson Davis County.
Tytianna Porter was East Marion’s lone consistent source of offense with 19 points as the next closest scorer was Amber Willis with six. Both were active on the boards, however, as Porter pulled down 12 rebounds and Willis 11.
The Lady Eagles were on the road Friday night against West Marion, but results were unavailable at press time. They will host Columbia Thursday in their tournament.
West Marion
The Lady Trojans were on the road Monday night to take on Bogue Chitto, and an underwhelming offensive showing led to the 50-34 loss.
West Marion shot just 24 percent as a team, going just 11-of-45 from the field, along with a 17:6 turnover to assist ratio. Sara Morgan paced the Lady Trojans with eight points, while Shania Jefferson had seven points and six rebounds. No other Lady Trojans netted more than four points.
The Lady Trojans hosted East Marion Friday night, results unavailable, and will return to the court Dec. 27 in the Columbia Academy Holiday Tournament.
Columbia Academy
The Lady Cougars were off all week after the cancellation of two weekend games following a 37-35 loss to Jackson Academy Dec. 5.
Head coach Dale Watts took the blame himself for that loss, saying that he should have realized earlier how much Deja Bradford, who had 28 points, was hurting the Lady Cougars and switched up the defense. However, he liked what he saw from his team in that game.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We have a lot of length and a lot of size. We’re identifying ourselves more, and we did that against JA,” he said. “We got the ball inside a great deal and handled their full-court press.”
The Lady Cougars hosted Simpson Academy Friday night, results unavailable, and will host PCS Saturday
night.
Pictured Above: East Marion’s Kaitlyn Echols, left, and Cassidy Sanders, right, collide with Columbia’s Tyra Conerly. | File photo by Joshua Campbell
