Tanita Thompson didn’t need to be reminded about the significance of the Starkville High School girls basketball team’s Class 6A, Region 3 game Friday night at Columbus.
“It was a tough game,” Thompson said. “But we expected that from them. We were able to come in here to a hostile environment with their fans, our fans, and coaches in the stands. Everyone has something to say, and we just had to block all of that out and listen to our coaches and do what you have to do.”
It took two overtimes, but the Lady Yellow Jackets got it done, holding the Lady Falcons without a field goal in the final overtime period to escape with a 67-62 victory.
Kelsey Jones was one of the biggest factors from start to finish. The sophomore scored Starkville’s first basket and her defense helped hold Columbus without a field goal in the final three minutes of the first quarter. Neither team scored again from the field until the 5-minute, 56-second mark of the second quarter, when a layup by Jones extended Starkville’s lead to 14-9. The basket was part of Jones’ 15-point first half that ended with Starkville leading 23-18 at halftime.
Despite only shooting 50 percent from the free-throw line, Columbus stayed in the game. Starkville tried to pull away in the third quarter, as it built a 39-30 lead. But Columbus found its spark with 1:22 remaining in the game when Jones fouled out with Starkville leading 47-41.
Columbus used a 6-0 run to tie the game on a layup by Zavia Jenkins with 22 seconds left. The Lady Yellow Jackets tried to run out the clock and waited for a game-winning shot, but the Lady Falcons denied them to send the game into overtime. Columbus outscored Starkville 17-8 in the fourth quarter.
Starkville led 52-49 with less than two minutes remaining, but Columbus scored back-to-back baskets, including a layup by Kayla Rogers, to take a 53-52 lead with 42 seconds left. The teams split free throws, but Starkville’s Tabreea Gandy score from below the rim tied the game at 55 with 10 seconds and sent it to a second overtime.
“I knew that this was going to be a battle,” Starkville coach Kristie Williams said. “It’s a district game and, on top of that, it’s also a big rivalry, so we didn’t expect anything less from Columbus. They gave us their best effort, and, for us, when Kelsey fouled out, the composure our girls were able to show was tremendous.”
Despite fouling out, Jones led the Lady Jackets with 25 points. Gandy and Thompson scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, after combining to score two points in the first half.
“She’s a fighter,” Williams said of Thompson. “She crashes the boards and does what she is supposed to when we ask of her. She almost scores in double figures every game and comes off the bench, so for her to understand that role and perform the way she does says a lot about her maturity.”
Jenkins had 21 points to lead Columbus. Sophomore Kyla Temple added 16.
“We have a young team,” Columbus coach Yvonne Hairston said. “(But) my 10th-graders really stepped up big and played hard tonight. We just didn’t get it done on the free-throw line tonight, and you can’t win a division ball game like that.”
With the win, Starkville improves to 13-4 and 3-0 in the region, while Columbus falls to 8-9 and 3-2.
Boys
Columbus 67, Starkville 44
Even though he is a freshman, Robert Woodard stepped up like a veteran in the Falcons’ win.
Woodard (team-high 15 points) helped the Falcons take a 26-20 halftime lead and played a key role in their 41-point second-half performance.
“We had some really intense practices this week,” Woodard said. “That really helped us get our heads together for this game. We knew with Starkville coming in that this was going to be a big game, and we knew we had to get it done and get the win.”
Starkville led 9-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Columbus took the lead midway through the second quarter and pulled away in the second half.
“We couldn’t make shots,” Starkville coach Greg Carter said. “Some of that had to do with their defense and some of that was us taking forced shots.”
Jay Jay Swanigan added 14 points for the Falcons.
Tyson Carter led Starkville with 13 points.
“I think the biggest key tonight was our team play,” Columbus coach Sammy Smith said. “Everybody was unselfish and everybody got a piece of the pie, and those were the things that really attributed to the win more so than just how one or two guys played.”
Columbus moves to 13-4 and 2-3, while Starkville falls to 11-4 and 2-1.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.