The Starkville High School girls basketball team didn’t have an answer for one of the best front-court players in the state of Mississippi on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Jazmine Spears scored 24 points to lead New Albany to a 45-42 victory against Starkville on the second day of the Joe Horne Christmas Classic at Columbus High.
“She’s going to get out and create because when you’re that good, that’s your job, frankly,” Starkville coach Kristie Williams said. “We just weren’t able to defend her well in the first half. They weren’t easy points, though. We made her take defended shots, but when you’re that good, they’ll fall.”
Spears, who has drawn strong interest from Mississippi State, the University of Mississippi, Southern Mississippi, and the University of Florida was asked to walk the basketball up in crucial situations, which allowed the 6-foot forward, who was a first-team All-State pick last season, to be double-teamed after she crossed the mid-court line. The 24 points is only her fifth-highest total of the season.
“When she turns it on, she just can’t be stopped at this level, and she knows it,” New Albany coach John Stroud said.
Starkville (6-6) trailed early after Spears scored 15 first-half points mostly on back cuts and post-up moves to help the Lady Bulldogs take a 22-15 halftime lead.
New Albany (6-5) built the second-half advantage to as much as 11 points before inconsistent shot selection and turnovers became a recipe for a fourth-quarter scoring drought.
Starkville senior guard Brittany Brown (team-high 16 points) helped her team come back and have the ball with six seconds left an a shot to send the game into overtime.
With two minutes remaining, Starkville finally hit some outside shots over a 2-3 zone defense, which allowed for more consistent drives into the paint.
Stroud said his team was fatigued following an overtime loss in region play Friday night to North Pontotoc and having to play less than 24 hours later.
“It was an ugly win, but one we’ll take any way we can after the way we finished,” Stroud said. “We didn’t have our legs with us, and we’re just trying to rebuild from a state championship last year.”
Starkville has lost its past two games at the annual Columbus High tournament by a combined four points, but Williams stressed the games included plenty of teaching points that will help her team move into region play in less than a month.
“We’ve taken our bumps and bruises, but schedule is tough for a reason because this time of the year is when you’re just trying to grow and get better in the second half,” Williams said.
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