PHEBA — The Hebron Christian School girls basketball team took a 1-17 record into Monday night’s game against Starkville Christian. One of those losses was a 52-34 thumping at the hands of the Cougars.
And after Starkville Christian spent most of the first three quarters toying with a double-digit lead, it looked as if the script already had been written.
But in one of those games in which each team can take away something positive, the Eagles pulled to within four twice down the stretch and cut it to three in the final seconds before the Cougars held them off for a 49-44 win.
“They played really well,” Starkville Christian coach Matthew Rye said of the Eagles. “They made some shots in the second half to make it close, and we just couldn’t buy a basket there for about four or five minutes.
“But it says something when you’re not playing well and you just keep going and dig deep a little bit.”
The Cougars actually went longer without a field goal. After Maddi Goodson’s putback gave the visitors a 41-31 lead, every Starkville Christian point over the last 6 minutes, 54 seconds came from the free throw line.
The Cougars shot just 11 of 25 from the stripe and were 4 of 8 over the final 5 minutes, but the Eagles didn’t take advantage of the opportunities.
“We haven’t been in a lot of close games like that, so I had to get back in the groove on that and try to help them,” Hebron Christian coach Tommy Ward said. “And we got in foul trouble; we had four out of the five players with four fouls at the end of the game, and our bench is short.”
The Cougars couldn’t put away the game; during one agonizing sequence, back-to-back-to-back layups bounced sharply off the underside of the rim. But they kept up the pressure on defense, forcing a tie-up on the very next sequence to get the ball back.
“I don’t think we played our best, but sometimes we didn’t play our best because they didn’t let us play our best,” Rye said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the other team.”
The Cougars played much better early in the game.
“I thought we came out with some intensity, which led to easy baskets on the offensive end,” Rye said.
The Cougars put on a rebounding clinic, particularly during the second quarter, in which they outscored the Eagles 18-10.
“They hurt us on the boards, and we don’t do the best job of blocking out,” Ward said.
When it was over, the Cougars scored 28 of their 49 points on layups or off of offensive rebounds.
Yet, it was a point guard who led Starkville Christian in scoring, as Tanner Smith netted a game-high 16 points. Jayla Riddle also was in double figures with 13 points.
“I thought those two stood out,” Rye said.
For Hebron Christian, which sports a roster of one senior, two juniors, one sophomore and one freshman with the rest seventh- and eighth-graders, juniors Elisha Carter (12) and Lindsey Daniels (10) led the way. But the Eagles were very balanced, with senior Katelyn Hill scoring 9 points and eighth-grader Evie Stanton finishing with 8 points.
“We had a good effort, we just made some mistakes at key moments,” Ward said. “They could have folded in the fourth quarter, but they stepped up.”
“I think you’ve got to give them credit,” Rye said. “It says something about their team and their coaching staff to keep going, and they’re building on what they have. I give them credit for getting better.”
Boys basketball
Starkville Christian 61, Hebron Christian 24: Kendrick Harris led three players in double figures with 15 points, and the Cougars scored the final 21 points of the game to pull away from the Eagles in Pheba.
Holden Gines scored 11 points for Starkville Christian, while Alex Hunley chipped in 10.
The Cougars dominated early, with five players scoring during a first quarter which ended with the visitors leading 16-2. With Harris making nice moves in the paint, the lead ballooned to 24-4 early in the second before things settled down. Still, Starkville Christian took a 34-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“They work well together,” Rye said. “I thought they were very unselfish, and they didn’t care who scored.”
The Eagles opened the second making strong moves in the paint, with Drake Flowers scoring twice during a brief 7-2 spurt. But after another strong inside move, this time by Terry Loden, made it 40-24, Hebron’s offense disappeared.
The Cougars scored the last 10 points of the third quarter, with Gines scoring on back-to-back layups off of steals to highlight the stretch. They outscored the Eagles 11-0 during the fourth quarter, invoking the running clock during the final 1:37.
An up-tempo offense, quick hands on defense and unselfish play have combined for a 16-4 record, even though Starkville Christian has no conference title to play for and no postseason tournament in its future.
“We don’t play for external rewards,” Rye said. “We play basketball with a passion for internal rewards. The guys have bought in. They’re gym rats and get after it every day in practice.”
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