STARKVILLE — Kristie Williams would have preferred to just move on to the next game, ignoring the milestone. But the Starkville High School administration was not about to let it go uncelebrated.
So, moments after her 301st win, a 62-43 triumph over Noxubee County, Williams was recognized for her 300th victory in a ceremony Tuesday night.
“It’s on the shoulders of former players, those I’m coaching now and all my assistant coaches,” Williams said. “You don’t get to 300 without their help. I guide the ship, but they’re the ones who keep it moving on the water.”
Win No. 300 came one week earlier, a 44-34 win at Madison Central. The win over the Tigers was the Jackets’ first home game since then.
Williams, now 301-132 for her career, couldn’t single out any particular player or team as her fondest memory; she treasures all of them.
“I’m very proud of every Lady Jacket from the Class of 2005, my first group, to the ones I have now,” she said. “I’m very appreciative of everything they’ve given to me, because it’s hard work. I coach hard, but I love hard.”
She did say she was proud of those who took their game to the next level, mentioning Blair Schaefer, who was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection on Mississippi State teams that went 126-22; Kelsey Jones, currently a redshirt senior at Southern Miss; Jariyah Covington, who played at East Central Community College and is a senior guard at Jackson State; and Amaya Ford, a freshman on the roster at Louisiana-Monroe.
“You have players who are still shining and doing wonderful things at their programs,” Williams said. “I always try to figure out who are the top five that I’ve coached, and I can’t because they’re all top five to me.”
Williams, who said she was especially happy her mother was able to attend the ceremony, admitted some things have changed since her first few years in coaching.
“I used to get really nervous before every game, and now I’m a little bit calmer before games,” she said. “But there’s nothing like watching young ladies get out there and play the game that they love and play it with a lot of heart.
“Every group I’ve coached has played with a lot of heart.”
Her 301st victory came fairly easily once Starkville’s devastating inside-outside combination of senior Nakeria Scales and freshman Zariyah Edwards went to work.
Scales scored 8 of the Jackets’ 17 points during the first quarter and had 12 by halftime. At that point, Edwards had scored 6 points, but she was just getting warmed up.
Time after time during the second half, Starkville fed Edwards in the low post, and time after time she delivered. She powered her way to 16 second-half points, finishing with a game-high 22. Scales was close behind with 19.
“We’ve been trying to see what each girl can bring to the table,” Williams said. “We know that Zariyah in the post is going to be a lot for other teams to take. The inside-outside game worked well tonight because she was drawing at least two girls on her, and when you get the ball back out, that really helps a lot.”
The Jackets took control early, bolting to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter. An 8-0 run late in the third quarter pushed the lead to 18, and Starkville’s biggest lead of 26 points came after Scales drove the lane for a bucket with 4:51 left in the fourth to make it 55-29.
The win was Starkville’s fifth in a row after opening the season with two losses. The Tigers, who were led by Tootie Lockett’s 18 points, fell to 0-4.
“We have a young group, a lot of inexperience in spots, and for them to step up and do what they’re doing is tremendous,” Williams said.
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