STARKVILLE – Nadia Norfleet, along with much of No. 1 Tupelo’s experienced roster, is made for big games. It was no surprise then when she was unstoppable against No. 4 Starkville on Friday night.
Norfleet’s 32 points led the Golden Wave past the Yellow Jackets 64-54 in front of a raucous crowd on the road. The Golden Wave also enacted some revenge after narrowly losing to Starkville earlier in the year.
“She’s got a lot of experience on the court, she’s got a lot of experience in the big games,” Tupelo head coach Matt Justice said. “One thing that I love about Nadia, the bigger the game, the better she plays. Coming into this game, I knew she would be aggressive in the first half.”
Tupelo (24-3, 8-2 Region 2-7A) jumped out to a 12-4 lead, and that served as a cushion for the Golden Wave the rest of the night. Norfleet found the scoresheet early and often, racking up 20 points in the first half. Tupelo led 31-22 at halftime.
“Last game against Starkville, I didn’t show up like I should,” Norfleet said. “They kind of shut me down, so I watched film and figured out ways to get open and attack and be more aggressive.”
Tupelo opened a 15-point lead in the third quarter and kept Starkville (20-6, 9-1) at an arm’s length away the rest of the night. The Golden Wave turned to Norfleet, Olivia Smith and Jade Rucker throughout the second half, and they delivered. Those three scored all of Tupelo’s 33 second-half points.
Rucker was out for the first Tupelo-Starkville matchup due to injury, and this time around, Starkville star Zariyah Edwards missed time due to foul trouble in the first half. Edwards still finished the night with a double-double, but the Yellow Jackets felt her absence.
“Big Z had four fouls in the second quarter, had a couple other ones I didn’t think played their best for us, and we still were in the game,” Starkville head coach Matt Wilbanks said. “I know they ended up winning by 10 and were up 12 or 13 at one point, but we kept playing extremely hard, didn’t shoot the ball that well.”
Boys
Starkville 72, Tupelo 62: Starkville (21-8, 6-4) and Tupelo (15-9, 5-5) split the season series. T.J. Warren led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points, and Starkville pulled away with the win.
Three-Pointers
Turning Point: Tupelo took a 15-point lead to start the second half, and Starkville struggled to stay in it after that.
Point Maker: Norfleet knocked down five treys as part of her 32-point night.
Coach Speak: “In big games, you have to count on your experience and your seniors out there to kind of get you through those moments.” – Justice
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