STEENS — Starkville Academy was not afraid to use its size on the basketball court on Tuesday night against Columbus Christian Academy.
The Volunteers frontcourt, with senior forward Katie Keenum in the middle, made great use of its size advantage against the Rams, but it took some time to get into rhythm.
Some easy missed layups and chances in the paint didn’t fall for the Vols early on, but once they got things going, there was no stopping them.
Keenum had a great day on the block as she and the frontcourt came up big on both sides of the ball, fending off a late Rams comeback for a 44-34 victory.
“At first, we were cold and really warming up into the game,” Keenum said. “We weren’t in the mindset early on, but we got into it, and our shots started falling later on.”
That cold start allowed Columbus Christian, playing in its first game of the season, to find itself back into the game, trailing just 7-6 at one point in the first quarter.
However, Starkville Academy found its footing and outscored the Rams 20-9 from that point, taking a commanding 27-15 lead into the half.
The Vols’ second-quarter performance really set the tone for the rest of the game, able to generate fast-break opportunities as well as making shots and not wasting second-chance opportunities.
“I thought our starters and first groups got us a good lead, so I was proud of them for that,” Starkville Academy head coach Colleen Roberts said. “We like to go inside to outside and back to the inside. That approach has been the best and it worked well for us tonight.”
The guard play worked just as well for the Vols, with Meg Brown and Sara Stokes McReynolds hitting shots from the perimeter and working in some mid-range jumpers as well.
Looking at the other side of the floor in Columbus Christian, the MAIS Class 2A school did well against a Class 5A opponent, cutting into the lead over the last three or four minutes in the fourth quarter.
CCA head coach Billy Thomas had the Rams playing a full-court press defense, and it definitely put the pressure on the Vols to get the ball past halfcourt and to make plays on the offensive side of the floor.
“Being the first game, you never know how things are going to happen,” Thomas said. “In the fourth quarter, they finally said, it’s time, and they started playing like they did last year, aggressive and getting after it.
“Shots and layups didn’t fall and there was mismatch-type stuff going on defensively, but to lose to a school like Starkville Academy by 10 at the beginning of the season to me is encouraging.”
It was a great measuring stick for Columbus Christian against a program from a bigger school, but the same was true for Starkville Academy, who fought off adversity late.
Facing a pressure-packed situation like that late is exactly what the Vols needed as they have a tough conference schedule, as well as other opponents, ahead.
“CCA put up a good run and gave us a run for it,” Roberts said. “It provided a great opportunity for us to work on how to close out a game. We have some things to go back and work on, but I’m proud we came out 10 ahead.”
The preseason tournament at CCA continues through Thursday with the Rams’ first regular-season game coming Nov. 1 and Starkville Academy’s next regular season game happening Saturday.
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 49 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.