STARKVILLE — On a night that celebrated the newest MHSAA Class 6A state champion, Starkville basketball had to show up just like its counterparts did on the football field last weekend.
Thursday night’s games were all the more important against Golden Triangle rival Columbus, featuring a girls team that had given the Yellow Jackets fits in the past.
The intensity of the rivalry shined through, but Starkville got some much-needed separation in the second quarter, a 9-1 run putting the Yellow Jackets out in front, 25-17.
Despite attempt after attempt from the Falcons to get back into the game, including a run late in the fourth quarter, Starkville held tough for a 48-42 victory.
“We played with a lot of grit,” Starkville head coach Kristie Williams said. “I thought there were moments where we tried to force passes or tried to take over in situations where we shouldn’t have, but I thought overall, our hustle was there. We’re right there. We just have to have to build on everything.”
Starkville hit just four 3-pointers on the night, so its offensive focus was on the paint and on the post, something the Jackets (8-1) undoubtedly excelled in.
Forwards Zariyah Edwards and Jada Gay had fantastic days in the frontcourt. Gay led the team in scoring with 14 points, while Edwards scored 11 points in the win.
Edwards and Jamaica Young each had 11 points, with Young also knocking down two 3s, half of the Jackets’ output behind the arc.
Columbus (1-7) penetrated the lane well on the night and challenged Starkville’s frontcourt, but as the game came to a close, the Yellow Jackets forwards really stepped up and played a massive role in a rivalry game.
“That’s one of the key parts to our game,” Edwards said. “To be able to play the middle and control it and doing well for the team is a great feeling, especially when I know my teammate, Jada, can come in and do the same thing.”
The Falcons were carried by guard MaKhya Weatherspoon, who started out the game red hot, scoring 11 of Columbus’s 16 points in the first quarter.
She hit two 3-pointers in the opening quarter and two more in the third quarter as she finished with a game-high 19 points in a losing effort.
The third quarter was also a big one for starter Christina Fulton, hitting two 3s as she finished with nine points in the game.
In the end, the biggest difference in the game was play-making and good possessions down the stretch, something Columbus couldn’t consistently do.
“We played hard and we played for every minute,” Columbus head coach Yvonne Hairston said. “We just had some key turnovers at the end of the ballgame that we can’t do and hopefully we can work on that and build on that.”
Columbus has a few days to regroup, taking on Tupelo at home on Tuesday evening, while Starkville has an incredibly quick turnaround in front of it, taking on Northwest Rankin at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Starkville boys 79, Columbus 65
STARKVILLE — Starkville kept things a bit too close against Columbus in the first half of Friday’s game, up 30-23 at halftime.
The Falcons were very much knocking on the door, but the third quarter was a drastically different story for the Yellow Jackets, who broke out a full-court press defense.
Columbus couldn’t respond, committing numerous turnovers that led to quick baskets and fastbreak opportunities for the Jackets. The home crowd responded accordingly to the quick run, picking up intensity and fervor with every shot Starkville made.
It all led to a timeout taken by Columbus with 4:02 remaining in the third, the Jackets storming out to a 52-33 lead as the decibel level was turned up to 11 from the fans.
Starkville kept the energy going, dominating the Falcons in the second half for a 79-65 win.
“It was all because of the defense,” Starkville head coach Qu’Varius “Woodie” Howard said. “We came out in that third quarter and we guarded. In the first half, we weren’t able to get stops and they were able to get baskets, but in that third quarter, we got stops and turned them into basket after basket.”
What was already a strong performance from the 3-point line became that much more dangerous once Starkville (9-2) started getting close-range opportunities and easy baskets in the lane.
With Columbus (5-4) scrambling to find a way back into the game, shooters were left wide open on the perimeter to knock down shots, none more than sophomore guard Jaden Tate, who hit four 3s en route to an 18-point night.
“I knocked down some good shots,” Tate said. “… We all just came together. At the beginning of the season, we weren’t sharing the ball well and tonight, we shared the ball and made shots.”
The Jackets ended up hitting nine 3s on the night to the Falcons’ six, but the most glaring stat of all was a 30-point third quarter that Starkville — already up seven points at half — won by 11 to take an 18-point lead into the fourth.
Columbus continued to play catch-up, finding more of a rhythm in the fourth to get the lead down to as low as 11, but for every Falcons run, Starkville had an answer.
“The defensive intensity dipped in that third quarter,” Columbus head coach Phillip Morris said. “We weren’t scoring the ball very well, but on the defensive side, you have to try to stop people, even if you’re not scoring well. We just need to be better.”
Encouraging signs for the future lie in that fourth quarter, but Starkville proved to be too tall of a challenge Friday.
Columbus looks to right the ship at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, hosting Tupelo, while Starkville is back at it at 4 p.m. Saturday on the road against Northwest Rankin, hoping to keep the positive momentum flowing.
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