JACKSON — Kelsey Jones wanted to give up the ball so bad.
The only problem was the official, who was standing to Jones’ left at midcourt, couldn’t take it as the final seconds ticked off the clock at the Mississippi Coliseum.
Yet Jones tried again, inching the basketball closer to him as the clock wound down to zero. Jones didn’t want to hold the ball any longer. She wanted to celebrate.
“It’s feels great,” Jones said. “This is my last year, and I am carrying my team on my back.”
Jones had eight points, 11 rebounds, and a blocked shot Wednesday afternoon to lead the Starkville High School girls basketball team to a 34-20 victory against Biloxi in the semifinals of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A State tournament.
The win helped Starkville (31-0) secure a date against Olive Branch, a 62-45 winner against Jackson Murrah, at 6 p.m. Saturday for the state championship.
The victory erased the frustration of losses in the semifinals the last two seasons. In 2016, Starkville lost to Murrah 44-42. Jones had 15 points and 12 rebounds in that game. She was 5 of 11 from the free-throw line as part of an 8-for-21 effort by the Lady Yellow Jackets at the free-throw line. In 2015, Starkville lost to Horn Lake 60-39.
For Jones, the only senior on the team, the victory was especially sweet.
“To get over the semifinals, the one we struggled with so bad two years in a row and go to the championship, I feel a relief,” Jones said. “We just have to keep with it and work hard for the next two days and come back Saturday and do it.”
Jones’ confidence at the free-throw line epitomized the growth in the Lady Yellow Jackets from last season to this year. Jones went 4-for-4 from the stripe and likely didn’t hit any rim in swishing all of the attempts. Even though she was 2-for-6 from the field, her offense wasn’t needed on a day Starkville locked down Biloxi (24-10) and held the Lady Indians to 7-for-29 from the field (24.1 percent). Jones led the way on backboards, as Starkville held a 36-15 rebounding edge. Sophomore Amaria Strong had eight of her 11 rebounds on the offensive end.
Jones admitted she thought back to last season’s game because she felt the Lady Yellow Jackets lost due to free-throw shooting. She said she used that memory as motivation throughout the season to concentrate in practice so she would be ready in big games to deliver.
“I am going to the line every game, so I know free throws count,” Jones said.
Starkville coach Kristie Williams stressed that lesson, as well as the importance of defense, since last summer when the Lady Yellow Jackets regrouped for what they hoped would be another run to Jackson. The chance for a perfect season awaits Saturday against Mississippi State signee Myah Taylor, Mahogany Vaught, and the Lady Quisters, who have an equally gaudy 32-1 record.
“It is a big sigh of relief to know that after this third time to show everyone that the Lady Jackets are still standing strong,” Williams said. “When that last buzzer sounded, it was just like the monkey flew off my back because it has been pressure filled coming back year after year to know that we have been in the same spot and is this going to be that year? Today was our time. I just believe in when it is your time everything seems to fall into place.”
Everything came together for Starkville in the second quarter when it outscored Biloxi 12-2 to build a 17-7 halftime lead. The Lady Indians were 1-for-9 from the field and committed three turnovers in the second quarter. Strong and Jones had four points in the frame, while Jalisa Outlaw and Jariyah Covington added two points.
Starkville’s lead grew to as many as 16 points three times in the third quarter, as Biloxi went scoreless for 10 minutes, 7 seconds from the second to the third quarter.
“Defensively we were able to get good defensive stops because offensively we weren’t able to do everything we wanted to. That is a credit to Biloxi,” Williams said.
Starkville’s lead never dipped below 10 points the rest of the way, even after Biloxi’s BreBre Riley (game-high 13 points) found a little rhythm. But 16 turnovers hurt the Lady Indians’ cause, especially back-to-back giveaways when they had a chances to cut the deficit to eight and then six points with made field goals. Starkville committed six of its 18 turnovers in the fourth quarter, but it weathered the storm on a day when defense reigned supreme.
It was fitting for Jones, who controlled the paint and then savored the post-game celebration after she finally released the basketball at the final horn.
“Defense is the key,” Jones said. “It is a very big key of our team. We stepped up and played great defense. That is what got us this win.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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