The Lady Cougars are a game away from the MAIS AAA State Championship, and if their previous performances hold any indication it’s a game they are likely to reach.
Despite losing one of their leaders, Macey Jones, early in a 44-34 first-round win over Starkville Academy Tuesday, Columbia Academy (29-8) extended its winning streak to 15 games and advanced to the semifinals against Hillcrest Christian Friday. Although results were unavailable at press time, the Lady Cougars beat Hillcrest three times this season by an average of 21.3 points per game, including a 48-28 victory Feb. 15 in the South State semifinals.
Head coach Dale Watts said Thursday that the fourth installment of Columbia Academy vs. Hillcrest would likely look different, though, without Jones in the fold.
“It’s going to be a difficult task,” he said, “but I think the girls can handle it. Without Macey we really have to be rebound conscious because they have some girls that can jump well. We can’t give them multiple shots. The second thing we’re working on is they press extremely well and run the floor extremely well.”
With a victory over Hillcrest, the Lady Cougars would face either Leake Academy or Central Hinds Academy in the title game Saturday at 2:15 at Leake Academy. CA beat Central Hinds in the South State championship 49-18.
Leake Academy (34-1), on the other hand, is the reigning state champ and beat the Lady Cougars three times this season. The Lady Rebels beat CA 52-24 Oct. 30, 55-47 Dec. 11 and 57-44 Jan. 11. Watts said if the Lady Cougars do play Leake, they have to come ready to play because Leake is extremely fast, extremely quick and plays a lot like Hillcrest except the Lady Rebels have five or six shooters compared to Hillcrest’s two.
“They’re like standing on the beach. The waves just keep coming at you,” he said. “If we can get to Leake in the championship round, we have to be able to handle the constant waves of pressure they’re putting on us, and that won’t be easy. It will be extremely difficult because they want you to play so up-tempo.”
Sydni Tangle is the leader for Leake and is a handful to deal with, according to Watts.
“They have a girl from Choctaw that is super. I watched her last year in the state championship and watched her this year, and she’s just very difficult. We can’t control her,” he said. “She’s extremely quick, handles the ball well, shoots the 3 well and drives to the basket well.”
Watts added the only way to keep Leake’s waves from killing CA is to keep the Lady Rebels out of transition.
In the victory over Starkville, Watts said he was impressed with how the team responded after the injury to Jones.
“It was a hard win. In the first 30 seconds of the game, Macey went down again, so we played without her,” he said. “The girls did well. It kind of shook them a little bit, and we had to regain our composure. It was a good win for us.”
If Columbia Academy loses to Hillcrest, it will play in the consolation game Saturday at 1. The top three teams of the tournament advance to the Overall Basketball Tournament, which will be played at Mississippi College Monday through Saturday next week.
UPDATE: Columbia Academy beat Hillcrest 34-27 to advance to the state championship.
Picture Above: Victoria Pace makes an open layup in the South State tournament. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
