The Lady Wildcats played their final game of the season Tuesday night, losing in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs to Yazoo County.
Columbia fell behind at Yazoo early, scoring just four first-quarter points and 14 points in the entire first half in a 64-47 loss.
“They shocked us for about a quarter with how fast and tough they played,” head coach Charlie James said. “Once we realized we could play with them, we settled down and competed. We just didn’t have enough firepower to match them. The biggest part was the slow start.”
Jasmine Sheppard had another solid night scoring with 19 points on 53% shooting, while Aniyah Fortenberry added 12 points. Kadajah Cook, whose emergence as a steady ball handler at point guard had allowed Sheppard to focus on scoring, had her worst showing since becoming a starter. The senior scored just four points on 1-of-9 shooting and committed 11 turnovers without an assist. As a team the Lady Wildcats turned it over 23 times with just two assists.
Columbia had been playing its best basketball of the season going into the playoffs, but it lacked a true inside presence and positional size across the board. It will graduate Cook, who really came on at the end of the year, 3-point specialist Aly Dunaway and Janayiah Willis.
“We have some girls coming out eighth grade we think could fill in and give us some athletic bodies,” James said. “One of the issues we faced all year was numbers, and that’s one of things we’ll be looking to improve on next year is having the ability to play multiple pieces and have energy down the stretch.
“Kadajah will be the most difficult one to replace because she took on a lot of the ball handling for us late and really played well. Aly’s spot will be by committee. We look forward to what we have coming.”
James added that while the Lady Wildcats were outmanned a lot of nights this year, he believes they competed extremely well this year. He said he liked the way they grew as a team and began to apply what he had been trying to teach them to the court.
Pictured Above: Columbia junior guard Jasmine Sheppard attempts a difficult shot in the paint Tuesday night at Yazoo County. Sheppard will likely have to move back to point guard next season with Kadajah Cook graduating despite excelling off the ball as the season progressed. | Photo Courtesy of Yazoo Herald
