The New Hope High School girls basketball team will carry a lot of momentum into its Christmas holiday break.
However, the Lady Trojans won’t carry a winning streak with them.
Behind a 30-point night from senior guard Tynesha Mickens, Noxubee County erased a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 48-44 victory Tuesday night and hand New Hope its first defeat of the season.
In the nightcap, New Hope salvaged the split as the boys posted a 64-60 victory.
The New Hope girls played without starter Lauren Holifield, who missed the game due to a family obligation. The going got tougher when the Lady Trojans had to deal with foul trouble.
“We were down a starter and it really affected our rotation,” New Hope coach Laura Lee Holman said. “When we got in foul trouble, we had problems. We are a young team and it really showed tonight.”
New Hope (11-1) started strong. The Lady Trojans had nine offensive rebounds in the first quarter. Mickens had all eight of her squad’s first-quarter points but New Hope still led 10-8.
In the second quarter, Noxubee County (9-4) eliminated the second-chance points and put on a nice run. Thanks in part to a 3-pointer from Ja’lisa Tate and an old-fashioned three-point play by Mickens, Noxubee County built a 23-15 lead.
New Hope responded on the defensive end, forcing four straight turnovers to fuel a half-ending 11-0 run. A steal and fast-break layup by Moesha Calmes gave way to a steal by Kaitlin Bradley and fast-break scoring opportunity by D.J. Sanders. The run gave New Hope a 26-23 halftime lead.
“In the second half, we did a lot of better job of rebounding, blocking out, and making free throws,” Mickens said. “All the things that coach told us to do in practice yesterday; we did a better job of in the second half. All of the pressure was on us tonight because we were the ones trying to beat the undefeated team.”
New Hope rode the half-ending momentum into a strong third quarter. Calmes had another steal and fed Jasmine Garner for another transition basket. The Lady Trojans also hit a couple of free throws after a technical foul was called on the Noxubee County bench.
“We were doing things a little differently tonight,” Holman said. “We were trying to slow the clock down and take more time each possession. I think that bothered our rhythm some, since we are an up-tempo team. There in the second half, it really got away from us.
“Turnovers have been the knife in our side for the last couple of years. They did a really good job of turning us over there in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.”
Noxubee County battled back for a 37-36 lead on a putback from DeWisha Clark with 3 minutes, 59 seconds remaining. It stretched that lead to 40-38 before New Hope scored on back-to-back possessions. A blocked shot led to a transition basket by Gabby Murray in transition that pushed New Hope back in front, 42-40, with 1:28 remaining.
Noxubee County answered with back-to-back baskets by Mickens. The second score was a spinning jumper in the lane that gave her tea a 44-42 lead with 46 seconds left.
New Hope had a chance to answer, but it hit only 7 of 16 at the free-throw line and missed the front end of four one-plus-ones and all three free tosses after a failed 3-pointer.
“I told the team if we hit five more free throws we win,” Holman said. “We are a good free throwing team, but tonight was not our night. The little things really added up and led us to defeat.”
Noxubee County hit 4 of 6 at the foul line in the final 40 seconds.
“It was a heck of a comeback,” Noxubee County coach T.J. Billups said. “I told the ladies at practice yesterday it would be a great feeling to go into an undefeated team’s house and hand them their first loss.”
Billups said his team was “asleep” in the first half, and said he feared it might not get a defensive rebound in the game.
“Nine times out of 10 what coach says is right,” Mickens said. “However, when he says something like that, we try to prove him wrong. It is the best feeling you can have as players to prove your coach wrong like that.”
New Hope received 11 points from Calmes and nine points from Gardner. Clark added seven points for Noxubee County.
In the nightcap, New Hope (6-4) used one of its best first halves of the season to build a 31-18 halftime lead.
“As athletic as Noxubee is, you know they are going to run the floor hard,” New Hope coach Drew McBrayer said. “They are going to put you in positions you don’t want to be in. When they spread you out, it is tough to guard them.
“In the first half, we forced them to stay outside and shoot jump shots. Many of those were not falling so we could build the good lead.”
The Trojans closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run to build a 14-6 advantage. Behind the strong inside presence of Lawrence Brown, the Trojans used a 10-2 run to start the second quarter to build a double-digit advance.
Brown (19 points, 12 rebounds) on the inside and Jason Tate (18 points) on the outside proved too much for Noxubee County (6-5) to overcome.
“My job is rebounding, that is how I earn my keep,” said Brown, a senior. “I take great pride in banging around underneath and making sure my team gets their fair share of loose balls.”
The outside shooting of Jamarri Johnson sparked a second-half run for the Tigers, who closed within five points three times, including a 45-40 deficit after three quarters. After Noxubee County’s Donald Chandler scored his team’s first basket of the fourth quarter, the Tigers missed their next seven shots from the field.
New Hope used a 9-0 run to build a 54-42 lead, but Noxubee County didn’t go away.
“Anytime you are in a close situation, you have to have free throws,” McBrayer said. “I was really proud of guys stepping up to make plays at the end of the game. We had played too well against a really good team to let it slip away.”
Trailing 58-50, Noxubee County used back-to-back 3-pointers by Kamal Chamberlain to cut the deficit to 58-56. New Hope had one miss at the foul line in the final 4:25. It came on the front end of a one-and-one between the back-to-back 3-pointers.
After that, Tate hit four free throws and Jock Pilgrim hit two more to seal the victory.
“We did a good job of knocking down open shots,” Tate said. “We had the mind-set that we were going to be aggressive. Free throws were the key in the fourth quarter. We are going to do whatever it takes to win as a team.”
Johnson paced Noxubee County with 13 points, while D.J. Robinson had 10 points.
Said Billups, “Very proud of the guys for battling back. We were on the road and had a bad first half. Still, we fought hard, gave great effort, and gave ourselves a chance at the end. Give credit to New Hope for making the plays to finish off the win.”
Pilgrim trailed Brown and Tate with nine points and six assists for the Trojans.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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