West Marion took home a championship Jan. 10 to cap off an undefeated 14-0 season, but it wasn’t a high school squad. The junior high Lady Trojans dominated Sumrall to take home the Tri-County Conference Championship.
The Lady Trojans beat Sumrall 38-21 in the championship at Sumrall High School, and head coach Millie McKenzie said she was lucky to have such a great group of young athletes.
“I was really blessed with some good athletes and some kids that are really talented in basketball,” she said. “Also they are kids that are used to winning. One of the kids plays AAU and a couple of them play really competitive softball. They have a winning mentality. They set goals at the beginning of the year to go undefeated and specific goals on offense and defense. They pushed themselves in the games and were aware of the goals.”
West Marion participated in the Tri-County Conference, which consists of middle schools from Marion, Jefferson Davis and Lamar counties, including East Marion and Jefferson Middle School.
McKenzie said the Lady Trojans really wanted to finish off the undefeated season with a championship and were willing to work and pay the price to get there. She added she knew she had a championship-caliber group and claiming the title was a weight lifted off her shoulders.
“It was such relief. I felt a lot of pressure because this is exactly should’ve happened for this group,” she said. “It was a joy. (The girls) were very happy. I think I was the only one that was worried. They were confident going in.”
McKenzie said her main goal in her nine years leading the program is to be able to encourage them to continue playing basketball.
“A lot of times a junior high kid may stop at junior high. I hope I encouraged them enough and created the love for basketball in them that they will continue playing,” she said. “Of course I want them to play the right way as well as I hope I encouraged them to live the right way.”
Meanwhile, the West Marion Trojans varsity boys team fell to 1-9 on the season and 0-2 in Region 8-3A play with a 75-43 loss to Tylertown Jan. 8. The Trojans played at Loyd Star Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. They will play host to Wesson Friday night.
Pictured Above: The 2019 Tri-County Conference Champion Lady Trojans include, front row, from left, Saniyah Franklin, Chelsey Smith, DeAndrea Dexter and Khallada Varnado; back row, head coach Millie McKenzie, Raven Jones, A'Kaizah Magee, Kendall Lee, Paris Thompson, Ka'niyah Dillon, Olivia Miller and NyKail Jefferson. | Photo Submitted
