TUPELO – For the first time all year, No. 1 Tupelo had no answers for an in-state opponent.
No. 4 Starkville jumped out to a double-digit halftime and didn’t let up in a 73-54 blowout win to claim the Region 2-7A title Friday night. Jada Gay led the way for Starkville with 32 points, and Zariah Brown added another 24.
“We’ve got to make sure we show up and we’re the most physical team, and tonight we weren’t the most physical team,” Tupelo head coach Matt Justice said. “We let them beat us in the paint. They executed at a higher level than we did around the rim. They did a good job of keeping us out of the paint.”
Tupelo (25-4) led 16-15 after the first quarter, but it was all Starkville (22-6) after that. The Yellow Jackets scored 22 points in the second quarter to take a 37-26 lead into the locker room, and Tupelo never recovered.
Gay gave Tupelo’s defense fits all night long. She scored 12 points in the first half and was unstoppable in the second half, adding another 20. A year ago, Gay tore her ACL in the region tournament, and Friday was the first time she played without a brace. Safe to say, she won’t be wearing it again.
“It feels very good, especially with my family here,” Gay said. “My first game off my brace, it feels amazing.”
Tupelo and Starkville split the season series after Tupelo won in Starkville last week, but Gay and the Yellow Jackets wouldn’t be denied this time around.
“(I saw) the player that I was told she could be,” Starkville head coach Matt Wilbanks said. “I’m really happy for her because I didn’t think she played her best at our place last Friday. She played hard, but she missed a bunch of easy ones. Tonight, man, she made all of them. She made some really tough shots, she was 100 percent dialed in.”
Despite the lopsided loss, the sky isn’t falling for Tupelo. The Golden Wave didn’t win the region tournament last year and still won the state title. But it’s certainly a wake-up call.
“That might be what we needed going into the playoffs,” Justice said. “Wakes us up and gives us the energy and effort that we need coming in next week to be locked in and ready for Southaven on Friday.”
SHS boys hand Germantown first loss in region-title win
The Starkville boys basketball team also lifted silverware on Friday, taking down Germantown 52-38 in Tupelo to hand the Mustangs their first 2-7A loss this season. Starkville, 24-8, takes home the district crown in its first year under head coach Anthony Carlyle.
Germantown, 21-5, won their two previous matchups against Starkville, but the Jackets had all the answers in the district title game.
Forward Jerwan McCarter led the Jackets with 15 points and 13 rebounds, followed by the game’s Most Valuable Player TJ Warren on the scoresheet. Warren contributed 13 points, three assists and a steal to help lead the Jackets to victory.
The Jackets will host DeSoto Central in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Dispatch preps reporter Colin Damms contributed to this report.
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