Local temperatures may be dropping, but the Columbia Wildcats and Lady Wildcats are red hot in the month of December, both undefeated in competition over the past two weeks with wins over East Marion, North Forrest and Seminary.
The turnaround couldn't have come at a much better time for the Lady Wildcats (5-5), who had lost four straight games to end the month of December. They put the losing streak behind them with three straight victories — winning each in convincing fashion — including a pair of wins last week over North Forrest (49-26) and Seminary (67-47).
The Lady Wildcats struggled to find their offensive rhythm early Dec. 6 at home against North Forrest but compensated with excellent defense to keep the score locked at 6-6 entering the second quarter. From there, Columbia more than doubled its opponent's scoring total through each of the remaining three quarters, led by junior Payshunce Sims who scored a game-high 14 points as the Lady Wildcats cruised to another victory.
They followed up the win over North Forrest with an equally impressive road win against Seminary on Friday, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs in all four quarters and holding them to only four points in the third quarter to pull away for a 67-47 win. Ten Lady Wildcats scored in the outing, led once again by Sims with 19 points, followed by sophomore Adrieyanna Fortenberry with 12.
Head coach Charlie James said that, while he knows the Lady Wildcats still have plenty more to improve on before they reach district play in January, he's excited about the progress and the sense of unity that has seemingly propelled the team to a new level to close out the 2022 portion of its schedule.
"Part of what I like most about our team right now is the team chemistry. They're playing hard, and they're starting to have a lot of fun out there together," James said. "Of course, we're still working on getting better in the half court and getting better defensively, but as far as the makeup of the team and the way they're approaching each game and each practice, I love that part. We can continue to build on that going forward, and hopefully we will."
The Wildcats (6-1) followed suit, earning a 74-24 victory over Seminary on Friday to push their own current winning streak to three games as well. Seniors Avyon Lewis and Kendale Johnson led the team with 13 points apiece, followed by Dallas Newsome and DJ Cloyd with 9 each as Columbia put the game away with ease.
First-year head coach Brian Butler says he's learning more and more about his team with each game, and he believes the Wildcats' current run says a lot about their potential as they prepare to enter district competition in only a few weeks.
"The main thing is that they play so well together, and they play really hard with a lot of intensity," Butler said. "That doesn't only help us in games but in practices as well. Our practices are very intense and very competitive, and I think that's how our guys have been able to improve so quickly because they just love competing with one another."
Columbia's boys and girls traveled to East Marion on Tuesday for rematches against the Eagles and Lady Eagles, but results were unavailable at press time. They'll be back in their home gym Thursday for another pair of rematches against West Marion, followed by two road games at Tylertown on Friday.
Butler said the intense action between Marion County teams in non-district play has been greatly beneficial as each hope to make big strides of improvement before reaching their district schedules, and he expects the competition to come this week will be just as intense.
"It's a huge advantage, not only for us but for all the schools in Marion County," Butler said. "Coach (Chip) Bilderback and I had a discussion when I first came here about how these local basketball programs have so much potential because of the wealth of talent here. It also helps that a lot of our guys play football as well, so they're used to competing in hostile environments and grinding out big wins. We expect that we'll have pretty intense environments for these next couple games as well, and we're looking forward to the challenge."
