It had been 45 days since the last time the Columbia Lady Wildcats took the court in a competitive game, but they restarted their season with a big win over county rival West Marion Tuesday night as they attempt to get back into playoff contention.
Columbia was forced to quarantine after playing East Marion Dec. 4 then had the holiday break. Upon returning from the break, the Lady Wildcats had to quarantine for another 14 days, creating the long delay.
In games they’ve played, the Lady Wildcats are 4-3 and 1-0 in district this season. But since their district games against Jeff Davis County and Tylertown were unable to be rescheduled, they are technically 4-5 and 1-2 in Region 8-3A. Two of the district games missed during their latest quarantine, against Our Lady Academy and Seminary, will be played.
Columbia got off to a good start in its return to the court, beating West Marion 39-29 Tuesday night at home. Head coach Charlie James said he let his team know before the game it needs to take advantage of every opportunity it gets because a season like this is so fragile and can be taken away at any time.
“That’s our approach from here on out,” he said.
James said the Lady Wildcats understandably got a little winded but that they responded well, played hard and did what they needed to do to hold off West Marion. Jasmine Sheppard led Columbia in scoring with nearly 20 points and five assists, while Aniyah Fortenberry had a good game inside, according to James.
Columbia played OLA in a rescheduled game Thursday night, but results were unavailable at press time. The Lady Wildcats played host to Jeff Davis Friday (results unavailable) and will play OLA again Tuesday on the road. They will then play host to Tylertown Jan. 29 and Seminary Feb. 2, play at Seminary Feb. 4 in a makeup game and close out the regular season at West Marion Feb. 5.
James said if the Lady Wildcats take care of business the rest of the way, they still have a very realistic shot to get into the playoffs.
