Neither Daisha Williams nor Jacolby Mobley have nicknames.
They did their best Tuesday night to secure monikers that fit their versatile abilities.
Williams scored 16 points and complemented Kiandria Patterson (game-high 26 points) and Maggie Proffitt (14) in ideal “third wheel” status to help the Columbus High School girls basketball team beat Starkville 80-56.
Mobley, true to his “area code” shooting stroke, tied Gavin Ware for game-high scoring honors with 16 points to lead the Starkville High boys to a 54-36 win.
For Williams, the victory was a chance to showcase skills she honed by working hours in the gym during the offseason. She refined her shooting stroke, polished her ballhandling, and raised her intensity on defense because she knew she would have to play a key role to help Columbus (18-2) make a run at a state title.
“I get that a lot (people telling her she is playing more confidently),” Williams said. “I just had to stay in the gym and keep working hard (to prove they are right).”
Columbus coach Yvonne Hairston said the Lady Falcons have stressed to Williams, an athletic wing player, that her offense will come if she plays tough defense. That was the case Tuesday, as she and her teammates were able to get out in transition off turnovers and score easy baskets. Columbus led 38-28 at halftime and used a 16-4 run in the third quarter to push the margin to 56-36 and build a cushion that was never challenged.
Williams added a finish to remember when she took a pass from Kadaryl Ledbetter and wrapped the ball around her body in motion on the right wing before she went up for a layup.
Earlier in the second half, Williams showed her shiftiness when she weaved into the lane and scored on a one-handed drive. The Lady Falcons will need those talents as it goes deeper into the season when teams will have greater ability to slow down high-scoring players like Patterson and Proffitt.
“She stepped up and ran the point so we could kind of take some pressure off Kiandria and Maggie,” said Hairston, who admits Williams practices the behind-the-back move every day in practice. “When she is able to step up and run the point, she can make some baskets and run the point.”
Brittany Brown and Janay Townsel each had 12 points to lead Starkville (10-10). Columbus won the first meeting between the teams 86-65 on Nov. 15, 2011.
“We still are a team that is striving for that four-quarter hustle, four quarters of energy,” Starkville coach Kristie Williams said. “We’ll go three quarters or three and a half, but once we can put together a complete game I think everybody will be able to see what great pieces we do have.”
In the boys game, Mobley, a senior guard, hit four 3-pointers and seemed quite capable for dialing up one step over halfcourt. He said he developed that range by practicing “24/7”. The work has paid off, too, as Mobley gets significant lift when he shoots and has a defined follow-through that gives him strength to shoot from 20 feet and beyond.
“Ever since I was young I have loved to shoot threes,” Mobley said. “I like to score the basketball.”
Starkville High coach Greg Carter said Mobley has become more balanced this season in that he is attacking the basket more regularly. He said Mobley’s reputation as a long-distance sniper forces defenses to come out and check him. Mobley’s deft ballhandling touch and quick feet give him another gear he can use to blow past opponents. The result is more opportunities for shooters like Mike and Steven Brand and inside players like Tory Rice and Ware.
Carter laughed when asked if he thought the nickname “area code” fit for Mobley. He agreed, saying Mobley is open “when he comes in the gym.”
“He has that confidence about his shot that he just believes every shot he takes is going to go in,” Carter said.
Starkville (19-3), which won a state title in Class 6A and a Grand Slam championship in 2010 and lost to eventual state champ Meridian High last season, has to get through a Class 5A, Region 3, District 4 slate that features Yazoo City, Canton, and Neshoba Central. Starkville will play Friday at Yazoo City. The district tournament will be at Neshoba Central.
Even though Starkville isn’t the deepest team in the state, its starting five ranks with the best. Mobley feels that group has great chemistry and will be tough to beat in the postseason. He said he is more than willing to do his part, even if it means dialing up a few jumpers from long distance.
“I have increased my strength and I feel I am a lot stronger with my shot,” said Mobley, who is being recruited by “a lot ” of schools. He said Mississippi State, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Memphis are looking at him. “I have always had the confidence shooting and scoring because I have always had the ball in my hands.”
Brandon Porter led Columbus (10-11) with eight points. Starkville beat Columbus 100-54 in the first meeting this season Nov. 15, 2011.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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