After ending an eight-game losing streak last Tuesday with a win over Wesson, the West Marion Lady Trojans (5-18, 1-9) began a new streak in their season finale last Thursday night at home.
The Lady Trojans new streak is on the winning side after beating Purvis 62-46 as four players reached double figures in scoring.
Shania Jefferson led the way with 17 points, followed by Keatra Harvey with 11 and Hannah Miller and Paris Andrews each had 10. Even more impressive was the sheer number of re-bounds the Lady Trojans hauled in — 79! — while Purvis had just 22. Shaniece Brady, who had six points, corralled a career-high 20 boards, while Andrews had 18 and Jefferson had 16.
While ending their skid and starting a winning streak may indicate improved play, head coach Steven Fortenberry was modest in saying it may just be improved luck.
“I don’t know if we’ve really come that far this past week. We’ve played just as good some of the times we lost. It’s just the luck was on our side,” he said. “It seemed like we were waiting on something to happen earlier in the (Purvis) game, but it just didn’t happen the other night. The unlucky breaks just didn’t happen (last week) like they were earlier in the year.”
West Marion began play in its district tournament at Seminary Tuesday, taking on the host school, but results were unavailable at press time. Heading into Tuesday’s matchup with Seminary, though, Fortenberry said he believed the Lady Trojans had a “great shot.”
“Seminary is a team we lost to the week before last in the last minute of the game, so we feel we’ll definitely be competitive up there tonight,” he said hours before the game.
After missing out on the postseason last year, Fortenberry said it would be big for the Lady Trojans to make it this season, needing to beat Seminary to clinch a berth.
“We only have two seniors, but they have been starters for three years. It would mean a lot to the underclassmen going forward, too,” he said.
With a win over Seminary, West Marion would take on top-seed Tylertown (18-3, 10-0) Thursday at 4.
After going through district play winless, the West Marion boys team ended its 10-game losing streak with a 62-57 win last Thursday night over Purvis to end the regular season.
The Trojans played Columbia in the first round of the Class 3A Region 8 Tournament Tuesday night, but results were unavailable at press time. The Trojans lost to the Wildcats twice this season, both by 45 points — 88-43 Jan. 5 and 79-34 Jan. 23.
With a win, though, the Trojans would match up with No. 2 seed Jefferson Davis County Thursday night at 8:30 and would be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs while knocking the crosstown Wildcats out.
While that may seem like a longshot on the surface, the Trojans pulled it off just last season. After losing to both Collins and Seminary twice during the 2016-17 regular season, West Marion upset both schools in the district tournament, reaching the championship and making the playoffs.
Head coach Mark Stringer could not be reached for comment.
Pictured Above: Janiece Brady dribbles past a Jeff Davis defender. | Photo by Mark Rogers
