MACON — Na’Kaiyla Lockett held her follow-through for an extra beat as the home crowd roared its approval.
When the Noxubee County girls basketball team needed a big shot in Tuesday’s home game against Columbus High School, the dynamic ninth-grader was there to deliver it.
Lockett launched a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the overtime period, draw a loud cheer and lead the Tigers (5-1) over the Falcons (4-2) on Tuesday in Macon, 56-54.
“That was a big shot she made, and then that allowed us to relax — but not just be content — on defense,” Noxubee County coach Micheal Johnson said. “We kind of took a deep breath saying, ‘We’re up three now.'”
Lockett had 15 points as Noxubee County continued a hot start to the season with its win over the defending MHSAA Class 5A champion Falcons. Senior Jakeia Walker added 11 for the Tigers, and Aaliyah Brandy had 10.
“It feels great because we all came back and played together as a team and worked together,” Walker said.
Noxubee County held Columbus to just one point for a majority of the overtime period, as the Falcons added seven while the Tigers held a sizable lead in the final seconds. DJ Jackson, who led Columbus with 22 points, buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the final margin two.
Otherwise, it was all Noxubee County in the extra period as the Tigers’ defense tightened against the Falcons. Johnson switched his defense to a box and one, and the home team forced misses and turnovers throughout the four-minute frame.
“It’s like they were stung,” Johnson said of the Falcons following his defensive change. “They didn’t want to see that.”
Meanwhile, Noxubee County performed well enough at the foul line to build the lead. That was perhaps aided by a recent policy Johnson instituted — players who miss their first free throw on a trip to the stripe must drop and do five push-ups. (Walker had to endure the punishment in overtime as the referee rolled the ball in the direction of her prone frame for her second shot.)
The end of Tuesday’s game was reminiscent of its start, as Noxubee County scored the first five points and took a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Columbus fought back, though, as Jackson hit a 3 for the Falcons’ first lead at 19-18 with less than two minutes to go in the half.
Noxubee County responded by taking a one-point lead into halftime and managing a tight third quarter to lead by two with eight minutes to go.
With 65 seconds remaining, China Stewart came up big for Columbus when she ripped the ball free from an unsuspecting Lockett near midcourt. Jackson grabbed it and found Stewart near the rim for a tying layup.
But the Falcons missed a chance for a go-ahead score inside the final minute as Jackson dove for a loose ball and passed it where a teammate had been just an instant before but where no one then stood. Two more turnovers — one by each team — sent the contest to overtime.
In the locker room, Noxubee County knew it couldn’t pass up its opportunity for a statement win.
“They told us to keep playing hard and don’t give up,” Walker recalled.
The Tigers didn’t. Forty-six seconds into the overtime period, Lockett’s 3 from just to the left of the top of the key hit nothing but net. Noxubee County had a lead that it never gave up.
“It means everything going forward,” Johnson said. “You beat a good ballclub, that gives you confidence.”
Columbus boys at Noxubee County, canceled
The boys game between the Falcons and Tigers was abruptly canceled because of gunshots that damaged two vehicles in the parking lot outside the Noxubee County gym. For more on the shooting, see the news section of Wednesday’s Dispatch or visit cdispatch.com.
Prep Girls Basketball
Winston Academy 41, Heritage Academy 40, OT
LOUISVILLE — The Heritage Academy girls lost Tuesday’s road game at Winston Academy in overtime, 41-40.
Lucy Sharp led the Patriots with 16 points, and Reagan Merchant had 15.
Heritage Academy hosts Leake Academy on Friday.
West Lowndes 58, Caledonia 43
CALEDONIA — The West Lowndes girls beat Caledonia 58-43 on Tuesday in Caledonia.
Tydajasha Hood and Nenah Young each had 15 points for the Panthers.
West Lowndes will play at Noxubee County on Saturday.
West Point 51, Houston 40
WEST POINT — The West Point girls beat Houston 51-40 in Tuesday’s home game.
Dukahia Jones had 15 points to lead the Green Wave. Mekayla Williams scored 11, and Taylor Fair had 10.
West Point will host Itawamba Agricultural on Friday.
Oak Hill Academy 43, Starkville Christian 33
STARKVILLE — The Oak Hill Academy girls earned a 43-33 road win at Starkville Christian on Tuesday.
The Cougars’ Tanner Smith led all scorers with 13 points.
Carley Wooten led Oak Hill with 12 points, and McKenzie Middleton added 11.
Oak Hill Academy will host Indianola Academy on Friday in West Point.
Neshoba Central 60, New Hope 34
Starkville Academy 32, Lamar School 20
Prep Boys Basketball
Heritage Academy 69, Winston Academy 20
LOUISVILLE — The Heritage Academy boys team routed Winston Academy 69-20 on Tuesday in Louisville.
Sam Hannon led the Patriots with 17 points. Trey Naugher and Luke Fisher each had 11, and Jonathan Peal had 10.
Houston 78, West Point 43
WEST POINT — The West Point boys lost Tuesday’s home game to Houston, 78-43.
Jalen Hall led the Green Wave with 15 points, and DJ Willis had nine.
Starkville Academy 73, Lamar School 53
Oak Hill Academy 60, Starkville Christian 17
Prep Girls Soccer
Caledonia 3, Itawamba Agricultural 2
CALEDONIA — The Caledonia girls beat Itawamba Agricultural 3-2 in Tuesday’s home match.
Jane Claire Newman had two goals for the Cavaliers, and Jade Hall added the third.
Caledonia’s next match is Thursday at South Pontotoc.
Kosciusko 8, Columbus 1
Germantown 1, Starkville 0
Tishomingo County 7, West Point 0
Prep Boys Soccer
Bayou Academy 3, Heritage Academy 1
CLEVELAND — The Heritage Academy boys lost Tuesday’s road match at Bayou Academy, 3-1.
Todd Sharp had the Patriots’ only goal.
Heritage Academy will play at Magnolia Heights at 1 p.m. Dec. 19.
Starkville Academy 4, East Rankin Academy 0
STARKVILLE — The Starkville Academy boys scored all four goals in the first half and shut out East Rankin Academy 4-0 on Tuesday in Starkville.
Isaac Lepard had two goals for the Volunteers. Benjamin Wiley and Brody Pierce each had one.
The Vols will play at Pillow Academy on Monday.
Kosciusko 8, Columbus 1
KOSCIUSKO — The Columbus boys lost 8-1 on Tuesday at Kosciusko.
Destin Poindexter scored the only goal for the Falcons.
Columbus will play at Grenada on Friday.
Starkville 3, Germantown 1
MADISON — The Starkville boys beat Germantown 3-1 in Tuesday’s road match.
Jackson Powney, Aaron Twietmeyer and Ethan Pulliam all scored for the Yellow Jackets.
Starkville will host South Panola on Friday.
Itawamba Agricultural 1, Caledonia 1 (IAHS wins on penalty kicks)
CALEDONIA — The Caledonia boys lost on penalty kicks to Itawamba Agricultural in Tuesday’s home match.
The Cavaliers and Indians went to penalties tied at 1-1.
Logan Powell had Caledonia’s only goal.
Tishomingo County 6, West Point 1
IUKA — The West Point boys lost 6-1 to Tishomingo County in Tuesday’s road match.
Antonio Facella had the Green Wave goal, which was assisted by Alex Harper. JaKobe Pate had nine saves for West Point.
The Green Wave will play Thursday at Winona.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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.