OXFORD — Before the Columbus girls faced Brookhaven in Friday’s Class 5A title game, Falcons stars DJ Jackson and Aniya Saddler told coach Yvonne Hairston they wanted to make amends.
Both players felt culpable for the Falcons’ second-round upset loss at Greenville last season, a defeat which quashed high hopes and expectations.
“We let one slip last year,” Hairston said. “We were supposed to be here last year, not this year.” Friday, Columbus on the brink of its first championship in school history, Jackson and Saddler knew the Falcons couldn’t afford another letdown. Each player told Hairston “‘I got you,'” promising it wouldn’t happen again.
“And they got me,” Hairston conceded, laughing, after the pair combined for 36 points and the Falcons beat the Panthers 55-51 to win the school’s first-ever title in girls basketball.
It was one last standout game for the junior-senior pairing in their last time taking the court together.
“That’s my duo partner,” Jackson said of Saddler, who will graduate in May and play basketball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. “I love her.”
Jackson and Saddler have grown together in Falcons uniforms to the point of friendly competition. Saddler scored 19 points Friday, and Jackson was right there with her at 17.
“We work really well with each other,” Jackson said. “I give her openings; she gives me openings.”
On Friday, both players took advantage of their chances as they led the Falcons to a win. Saddler’s performance earned her the title game’s most valuable player award, another honor for the senior standout.
“She played big tonight,” Jackson said. “She played big all season. And big-time players play in big-time games.”
For the Falcons, Saddler has been the definition of a big-time player all season, fighting through frustration and snapping out of poor performances when her team has needed her.
“Even when she’ll be in her little moods and stuff, she still finds a way to break out of them and play,” Jackson said.
Saddler took over from Hannah White — now at Alabama State — as the Falcons’ go-to player this year, and Jackson is poised to be the next. She, freshman Shania Givens and sophomores Charity Yeates, Makayla Rieves and Mashanti Saddler will be part of the team’s next wave as the Falcons aim to defend their title.
“I’m gonna miss her, but we’ve gotta keep on going,” Jackson said. “We’ve still got next year. We’ve still gotta work hard.”
But Saddler isn’t out of the picture yet, and Jackson won’t let her leave easily. Jackson plans to watch Saddler play at Gulf Coast, where she hopes Saddler will wear the same No. 3 uniform she donned with the Falcons.
“I know she’s gonna do well,” Jackson said. “Just to see her in that Gulf Coast jersey, I know she’s gonna do well.”
Jackson joked that she might like to play against Saddler in a little over a year’s time, but joining her other half at Gulf Coast isn’t out of the question, either.
“Just to have her as a teammate, I would,” she said.
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 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.