STARKVILLE – Defense is always on the mind of Starkville girls basketball head coach Matt Wilbanks, and it’s part of the reason why his Yellow Jackets are looking like stalwart championship contenders.
Behind a relentless press defense on opposing ballhandlers, it’s rare for an opponent to make it across halfcourt without being hounded. Around the basket, the Jackets’ incredible length and added fervor make scoring and rebounding a grueling task.
“That’s kind of been one of our pillars this year,” Wilbanks said. “I think that’s what separates us from past years; we’ve been able to play a little bit more man (to-man defense), and that’s the style I want to play, and we’re doing a pretty good job of communicating and getting after folks.”
And on Tuesday, Starkville put on another display of its lockdown might in a 61-19 walloping of visiting Germantown – its fifth straight Region 2-7A victory.
A quick layup by Logan Warren after the opening tipoff got the Jackets on the board, and before anyone could blink the Mavericks were already in a 9-0 hole and struggling to get the ball up court. A pair of made free throws finally got Germantown on the board to stop the bleeding, but the damage had been done. Southern Miss commit Jada Gay opened the wound back up with a shot from downtown and a layup, and Starkville cruised to the second quarter with a 23-8 lead – where it turned its defense up to another level,
The Mavericks were held scoreless for the entirety of the second quarter, often struggling to even pass the ball to anyone down in the paint. Starkville, which finished with 13 steals and 22 forced turnovers, managed to pick the ball away from Germantown many times for easy fast-break layups and pulled away for a 40-8 cushion at halftime.
“I thought we got to running the floor pretty good. We adjusted and switched our press from a 2-1 to a one-guard front to let our length be at the top, and that way it kind of let us have two bigs get in the back too with a little bigger lineup,” Wilbanks said of his team’s defense in the second quarter. “I thought overall we did a pretty good job.”
With the backups in, Starkville (20-3, 5-0) still continued to roll away, thanks in part to owning the rebounding margin, 38-17, and led 49-15 heading into the final quarter. It was another easy day at the office for Gay, who led the team with 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Zariah Brown added nine points, two rebounds and two steals.
“I think (Gay) had 20 (points), but she really only played two quarters,” Wilbanks added. “She does a lot for us and she’s really good at what she does.”
Starkville boys 58, Germantown 37
After Starkville’s girls showcased their display of stalwart defense, the Jackets’ boys team followed up with their own showcase of defensive and offensive might against Germantown, the reigning 7A state champion.
Three Yellow Jackets posted double-digit points and got into the scoring action early as a 14-0 run to open the game turned into a 58-37 victory – also the team’s fifth straight win.
The Mavericks were playing without star forward Sam Funches, a 6-foot-11 Gonzaga commit, and his absence was felt immediately after tipoff. Germantown was held scoreless for the first six minutes of the game as Starkville pounded the ball inside to Ladanuel Jordan and Jerwan McCarter for easy baskets. An 18-4 lead after the first quarter turned into a 32-11 advantage at halftime.
“(We’re) just trying to defend,” Starkville boys head coach Anthony Carlyle said. “They have two guys who can score the ball pretty well, they just kind of had different roles right now where they don’t have the big kid to where it makes it a little easier for them. So, we just want to try to make sure that we slow those two guys down as much as possible and make some of the other guys have to make shots.”
In the second half, Germantown managed to find spurts of offensive rhythm, thanks in part to some Starkville turnovers and the occasional brief shooting slump, and began to pile on some baskets. But anytime Starkville (20-1, 5-0) felt like getting its grip back on dominating the court, they just passed the ball down low to Jordan, who finished the night with 11 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block.
“He’s a load,” Carlyle said. “When he gets to throwing that weight around down there, there’s not a lot of guys who want to bang and take that physicality. So, that helps him a lot and he’s been great us the last few games, just being able to take advantage of his size inside and hopefully continue to keep it up.”
Jaden Tate led the team with 12 points and three rebounds, and McCarter, who shot 2-of-3 from downtown, scored 11 points with three rebounds and two assists.
Both of Starkville’s basketball squads turn their attention to the second half of the conference slate and begin their last leg today against visiting Clinton. The girls play at 6 p.m. and the boys at 7:30 p.m.
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