All three Marion County public schools began district play this week, while Columbia Academy doesn’t start until Jan. 22.
Columbia (4-14, 1-1) and West Marion (2-10, 0-3) kicked off Region 8-3A play Monday night, as the Lady Wildcats came away with a 47-23 victory over the rival Lady Trojans.
“I thought we played well together in that game,” Columbia head coach Charlie James said. “That’s something we’ve been talking about is trusting your teammates to get some more people involved. I thought we did that, and some girls actually stepped up and did some things we were talking about. That game they trusted each other and worked together as a team.”
Christina James had a great showing with 21 points on 64 percent shooting, 12 rebounds, seven offensive, three steals and two assists, and Jasmine Sheppard poured in 15 points for the Lady Wildcats.
Columbia couldn’t keep up the momentum Tuesday, though, losing to Jefferson Davis County 65-54 on the road. While Columbia shot a season-high 50 percent from the field, it also turned the ball over a season-high 39 times.
”We had talked about eliminating turnovers going into that game. We talked about working on turnovers, free throws and layups. That’s what cost us down the stretch,” coach James said. “We had about three or four unforced turnovers right there at the end to go along with some others throughout the game that really hurt us. We talked about (Jeff Davis) was going to be pressuring us and how we had to break the press and hit layups on the back end. To start the game, we had four or five looks we didn’t hit that we talked about going in.”
Christina James was dominant again with a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double on 88 percent shooting and blocked six shots, but she also had 13 turnovers. Sheppard added 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Cortaysja Robinson had 11 points, four boards and two steals.
The Lady Wildcats hosted Wesson Friday night, but results were unavailable at press time, and will take on Tylertown on the road Tuesday. James said that although the turnovers against Jeff Davis were bad, the effort was an encouraging sign.
“If we play with same energy and effort we played with against Jeff Davis and eliminate the turnovers and missed layups and free throws, I think we could very well be very competitive in (district),” he said. “I told them yesterday if we get out of our own way, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Lady Trojans, meanwhile, had their worst showing of the season Tuesday night, losing to Tylertown 45-9. West Marion trailed 22-0 after the first quarter and scored just five points in the second quarter, three in the third and one in the fourth.
West Marion hosted Jeff Davis Friday night (results unavailable) and will travel to Brookhaven Tuesday to play Loyd Star.
East Marion (8-9, 1-0) kicked off Region 8-1A play with a bang, taking down perhaps its biggest competition for another district title, Lumberton, 40-26. Lia Smith and Tytianna Porter were the driving forces for the Lady Eagles, with both scoring 15 points on 70 percent or better shooting from the field. Porter also had eight rebounds, six steals and four assists.
The Lady Eagles played host to Resurrection Catholic Friday night (results unavailable) and will stay at home to play Sacred Heart Tuesday.
Columbia Academy (14-6) may still be a couple weeks away from its district schedule, but the Lady Cougars have been busy with tough competition. It came down to the very end, but Simpson Academy edged out the Lady Cougars 39-36 in Mendenhall Jan. 3.
“It was a really hard game,” head coach Dale Watts said. “It was pretty physical, and we were on the short end of the foul situation. But I thought the girls played really hard. We had opportunities to win the game and played pretty well. Macey (Jones) fouled out in the third quarter, and that hurt us. Simpson is a hard place to win.”
Gabby Sullivan paced CA with 12 points, followed by Lauren Rowley with eight and Morgan Jones with seven.
The Lady Cougars rebounded, though, to beat another tough opponent two days later, topping Lamar Christian 44-37 behind a 27-point performance by Macey Jones. Watts said Macey Jones took advantage of a good matchup but had help from her teammates.
“The girls did a good job. Macey is dependent upon the girls getting her the ball (in the post),” he said. “I thought we had a good defensive scheme. Lamar Christian is a really good team and has two girls who are really, really good that can shoot the ball really well. We did a good job of limiting them.”
CA hosted and beat Pontchartrain Christian 44-34, but Watts said he only played his starters three minutes before bringing in the subs for the duration of the game. Pontchartrain is a homeschool athletic program based out of southeast Louisiana, and its coach approached Watts about a plan to keep the game competitive.
“It was more of a JV game,” he said. “They had some young girls, and I had talked to the coach prior to the game and she was concerned about her team. At the end of game, both sides were OK. It was good for them to get some good experience.”
The Lady Cougars hosted Lamar School Thursday and played at Leake Academy Friday, but results were unavailable. They will return home to take on Salem Tuesday.
Pictured Above: Columbia point guard Jasmine Sheppard races out in transition against West Marion Monday night. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
