Yvette Hairston wants the Columbus High School girls” basketball team to be mentioned in the same breath with the state”s best.
That notoriety doesn”t necessarily have to come this season, as the Lady Falcons are young and field more sophomores than any other grade.
But with two of Class 6A”s top scorers in Kiandria Patterson and Maggie Proffitt, the Lady Falcons (2-1) are looking to make a statement in tonight”s game at Starkville High (1-4).
The future looks bright as Patterson and Proffitt are both sophomores and have made tremendous strides since last season. Patterson and Proffitt were CHS” key scoring options last season and are currently averaging 31.7 points and 18.3 points per game, respectively.
“I don”t think anybody knows about our program, but it”s on the rise and we”re excited,” Hairston said Thursday. “We”re seeing some good things happen on the floor.”
Just three games into the season and coming off a 16-point home loss to New Albany, Hairston is realistic in her team”s current level of form.
The Lady Falcons beat then No. 8-ranked Newton 79-74 and rolled 2A opponent West Lowndes 94-28.
Beating a team like Starkville and executing every part of the game plan in a rivalry match will show Hairston how far her team is from being considered a legitimate postseason contender.
So far, Patterson and Proffitt have accounted for nearly 70 percent of the Lady Falcons” scoring. Both have differing styles, too, as Patterson is an inside-out threat and Proffitt is a superb jump shooter.
Teams will certainly build their game plans around stopping Patterson and Proffitt, and Starkville head coach Kristie Williams said the task is complicated.
“We”ve got to know where she is at all times, put pressure on the ball high so they can”t find Maggie,” Williams said. “KeKe (Patterson) is a dynamic player, great perimeter shooter, and can take you off the dribble. Pressure on her has to be at 100 percent. Any light, she”ll take it, whether it”s the 3 or pull-up in your face. We have to realize they are the two that drive the offense for Columbus.”
Though the Lady Falcons lead on Patterson and Proffitt for scoring, Hairston is confident the supporting cast can compensate should one or both have off-nights.
“I can put all 10 on the floor and all can score,” Hairston said. “Feeding off of Maggie and KeKe is good, but on any given night you got Toni Petty and Daisha Williams who can give you eight to 12 points a game.
“Here lately, those girls haven”t been put in positions to score a lot.”
Hairston said the key to tonight”s game, which will tip off at 6 p.m., is being the more aggressive team. She sees it as the primary lacking element for her young team.
Williams agrees, though the Lady Jackets” struggles with ball-handling and adapting to new players has held back her team”s ability to go full-throttle.
Senior forward Courtney Moore has been the team”s most consistent scoring threat at 13 points per game, and Whitney Taylor and Brittany Brown are averaging close to seven points per contest.
Finding another player who”ll command as much attention as Moore does in the post is vital, but until that happens the Lady Jackets will have to rely on hustle.
“Energy levels were higher, as was the aggressiveness we haven”t been showing,” Williams said of SHS” win over Louisville. “I was able to see more hustle from different player in terms of the output they”d had up to that point.
As Columbus is looking to build its confidence from a solid start, the Lady Jackets are looking for a big-win to help get their season back on track.
“It”s more or less just a factor of self confidence,” Williams said. “Were steadily building that, and the most important thing we can do is allow them to see that they can still do their part.”
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