The undefeated start to the season came to a close for Starkville’s girls basketball team over the weekend in a close loss to Laurel while the Yellow Jackets’ boys team continued its perfect start. Columbus’ boys basketball has also been hot as of late and grabbed three victories last week.
Starkville
The Yellow Jackets’ girl’s basketball team saw its unbeaten mark come to a close on Saturday in a 41-33 loss to Laurel. The Golden Tornadoes outscored the Yellow Jackets 14-4 in the second quarter and 15-5 in the third to halt Starkville’s streak of wins at 13 games. The team was riding high after notching a 56-33 win over Choctaw County on Dec. 13 in the Mid Mississippi Classic, in which Jada Gay led the way with 17 points, Logan Warren scored 13 points and Zariah Brown chipped in 10 points. The Yellow Jackets (13-1) will be back in action at 4 p.m. Dec. 29 at the New Albany Xmas Classic when they take on Hancock.
For the boy’s team, it’s been business as usual.
The Yellow Jackets grabbed two more dominant wins over the last two weeks in tournaments on the road to add to its blazing hot and undefeated start to the season.
On Dec. 13, Starkville (12-0) participated in the Tangle on the Trail tournament at Pontotoc where it outclassed Shades Valley (Ala.), 63-46. Jerwan McCarter led the team with 19 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Jaden Tate scored 15 points and dished three assists with two steals, one rebound and a block. Ladanuel Jordan had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, and TJ Warren finished with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
On Saturday the squad cruised to a 59-31 victory over Ridgeland at the BASSA Invitational at Mississippi College to leave themselves just three games away from moving through the nonconference slate of the season without dropping a single contest. The Yellow Jackets played Hillcrest at the Hoover Classic in Hoover, Ala., yesterday and will wrap the tournament up today against Fairhope.
Starkville’s boys soccer team fell to 6-7-1 overall and 1-3 in Region 2-7A games Thursday in a 1-0 loss at Germantown. The team will play next on Jan. 8 when it hosts Madison Central. The school’s girls soccer team had its two-game win streak snapped last Thursday in a 3-2 loss at region foe Germantown. The Yellow Jackets (4-8-1, 1-3) resume play Jan. 1 at Clinton.
Starkville Academy
The Volunteers’ boys basketball team grabbed two road wins in two days last week to improve to 7-4 on the season. On Friday, the Vols took down Choctaw County 68-54 and followed up the next day with a 49-34 victory over Delta Streets Academy. The girls team had its five-game win streak snapped with back-to-back losses on Friday and Saturday as well. The Vols (6-9) fell at Choctaw County 65-29 and was defeated 53-28 at Kirk Academy. Both teams play today at East Webster with the girls taking the court at 5 p.m. and the boys at 7 p.m.
West Lowndes
The Panthers’ boys basketball team piled on two victories last week, one of which was a region win, to bounce back from a loss to Okolona in their first taste of Region 3-1A play. West Lowndes took down New Hope 60-58 on Thursday and followed up with a 77-67 win over Tupelo Christian Prep on Friday. The girls team (5-6, 0-1) had its four-game win streak halted in back-to-back losses, beginning with a 61-37 defeat at region foe Okolona on Tuesday and a 77-45 loss to New Hope on Thursday. The boys hosted Kosciusko yesterday while the girls played at McAdams. Both teams play one more game this month on Wednesday against Scott Central.
Columbus
The Falcons’ boys basketball team added three more victories to its resume last week to improve its streak of wins to five games overall. Columbus defeated Meridian 58-32 on Tuesday then began Region 1-5A play with a 77-43 win over Lafayette. On Saturday the Falcons (9-5, 1-0) played at Madison-Ridgeland Academy and left town with a 64-53 triumph. Columbus’ girls team fell in a 56-35 loss to Meridian on Tuesday and rebounded Thursday with a 47-18 thrashing of Lafayette in its region opener. The girls play next on Dec. 29 at Kossuth, and the boys return on Dec. 30 at Noxubee County.
In soccer, the Falcons’ boys team fell to 3-7 overall and 1-4 in region games last week with conference losses to Caledonia (5-0) on Tuesday and Lafayette (7-0) on Thursday. Columbus’ girls team was dealt an 8-0 setback at Caledonia on Tuesday to fall to 0-8 overall and 0-3 in region games. Both teams return to play on Jan. 6 against West Point.
New Hope
The Trojans’ girls basketball team pulled out two wins last week to rebound from a loss on Dec. 13. On Tuesday the team (7-3) bested Northeast Lauderdale 48-41 and took down West Lowndes 77-45. The boys team extended its losing streak to three games with losses to Northeast Lauderdale (46-36) and West Lowndes (60-58). The Trojans’ boys’ team played yesterday against Sipsey Valley, and the girls will resume play on Jan. 2 at Caledonia.
In soccer, the school’s boys team was hit with a 3-0 loss at region 1-5A opponent Pontotoc on Tuesday while the girls team squeaked out a 1-0 win. Both the boys (3-8, 1-3) and the girls (3-7, 1-2) return to the field Jan. 3 at Kosciusko.
Caledonia
The Cavaliers’ boys basketball team went 2-1 in a three-game span last week to improve to 5-7 on the season. The run got started with a 69-42 win at Fayette County on Monday and ran into an 89-53 loss at Houston on Tuesday. The Cavs returned on Friday with a 67-65 win at Amory. The girls team (8-4) also took down Fayette County on Monday, 55-45, then fell to Houston 52-41. Both teams return to play on Jan. 2 at New Hope to begin Region 1-5A games.
The Cavs’ soccer teams both captured wins over Columbus on Tuesday to improve to 3-1 in conference games. The boys (12-3) won 5-0 and the girls (13-2) won 8-0. Both teams play next on Jan. 6 against New Hope.
West Point
Both the Green Wave’s boys and girls basketball squads suffered back-to-back losses last week, including their first contest in Region 1-5A play. The boys team (9-3, 0-1) fell 57-49 to visiting Pontotoc on Thursday and was defeated 54-40 at Choctaw Central on Saturday. The girls (8-6, 0-1) also suffered setbacks to the same teams, 46-39 to Pontotoc and 65-25 to Choctaw Central. Both teams are back on the court on Dec. 29 against Noxubee County.
The Green Wave’s boys soccer (1-9, 0-4) team lost its seventh game in a row on Tuesday in a 8-0 loss to Lafayette. The girls team (2-8, 1-3) fell 7-0 to the Commodores. The season resumes for both teams on Jan. 6 at Columbus.
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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
