East Oktibbeha County High School girls basketball coach Pam Roberts feels like her team is peaking at the right time.
Fresh off a Class 1A-Region 5 championship and an opening-round playoff win against Piney Woods, East Oktibbeha will resume its postseason quest at 4 p.m. today against Pelahatchie at Stringer High in the South State quarterfinals.
“We have been talking about hard work and making sure you do everything you can to finish strong,” Roberts said. “The teams who are left in the playoffs have no real weaknesses. Now, you have to raise your intensity to match your opponent. You have to give it your all for one last stretch run.”
East Oktibbeha (15-13) entered the region tournament as the No. 2 seed. It played perhaps its most complete game of the year in a 66-56 tournament championship win against Weir. That victory allowed East Oktibbeha to play host to Piney Woods in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs on Monday night in Crawford. The Lady Titans built a 16-point halftime lead before settling for a 73-70 victory.
“We lost our focus in the second half,” Roberts said. “I think the girls thought it was going to be easy and they let their guards down a little bit. However, we finished strong and made some really good decisions in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.”
Piney Woods erased the 42-26 halftime lead to take a brief lead. The Lady Titans closed the game with a 7-3 run to seal the victory.
“Our ball movement may have been the best it has been all year,” Robert said. “We played a difficult schedule during the regular season. That paid dividends in the district tournament and against Piney Woods. It is like we have a different confidence now than we did earlier in the year.”
Lydia Stevenson led East Oktibbeha with 18 points in the victory. Quanisha Doss had 15 points against Piney Woods and is averaging more than 20 points per game in the postseason.
Pelahatchie (12-14) reached the quarterfinal round with a 57-41 win against Salem. In the Region 6 championship, Pelahatchie defeated Sebastopol 65-48.
The winner of tonight’s game will stand two wins away from a South State title. More importantly, that squad will be one win from reaching the overall Class 1A state championship tournament, which begins next week in Jackson.
“It’s a long trip, but we are looking forward to it,” Roberts said. “You have prepared all year for this moment. Now you simply hope to play your best.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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