Pressure defenses are designed to give teams plenty of chances to create separation.
The West Lowndes High School girls basketball team thrived this season when it was able to create havoc with its 2-2-1 full-court defense. The Lady Panthers’ athleticism and speed often enabled the team to create turnovers that led to easy baskets and big leads.
But a steady hand running the press-breaker can spell disaster for a team that generates offense from its defense.
Unfortunately for West Lowndes, McAdams coach Michael Huffman has that kind of player in Chelsea Kilbert. The junior guard spelled the difference Saturday night, weaving in and out of West Lowndes’ pressure and scoring a team-high 22 points to lead McAdams to a 61-49 victory in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A State tournament at West Lowndes High in Columbus.
Kennedy Landfair (11 points) was the only other player in double figures for McAdams (23-5). LaQuesha Clemons paced West Lowndes (16-8) with a game-high 27 points, while Kiearra Bridges had 12.
“She has been that type of player since she was an eighth-grader,” Huffman said of Kilbert. “I am proud of her. She will get frustrated a little bit, but then she comes back with the heart of a champion.”
Despite 32 turnovers, McAdams weathered the storm and did a good job against West Lowndes’ defense. Kilbert often was leading the way with an attacking dribble. She used her size and ballhandling ability to move past defenders and get into the lane and create shots for herself or for her teammates. Fittingly, her biggest plays came with the game in the balance in the fourth quarter. After West Lowndes cut the deficit to 50-44, Kilbert drive from midcourt and saw an opening. Seeing no one was going to stop the ball, she attacked and converted a layup to kick the lead to 52-44 with 3 minutes, 25 seconds remaining. She provided the dagger with 1:48 left when she split the defense and led a three-on-two secondary break and offered a lookaway pass to her right to Amber Newell, who made the layup and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but McAdams’ 56-44 lead wasn’t in doubt from that point.
“I feel very comfortable handling the ball,” Kilbert said. “If coach gives it to me, I will take it down the court. I think we handled their pressure real good. We started off good and ended good.”
Kilbert said she and her teammates knew West Lowndes was going to attack them from the outset. Huffman was in Columbus on Friday night to watch some of West Lowndes’ 61-38 victory against Sacred Heart, so he knew what to expect. He said he had confidence his team would be able to handle the pressure as long as it stayed aggressive. Kilbert made sure of that by staying in attack mode.
“Attack was on my mind a lot tonight,” Kilbert said. “It feels great to get a chance to go to Jackson. I think we did great. I am glad we are going to state.”
West Lowndes coach Tiffany Phinisey acknowledged her team has its chances to get back into the game. The Lady Panthers fell behind 17-9 after one quarter and trailed 24-9 early in the second quarter after turning the ball over on their first four possessions of the second quarter.
But West Lowndes crept back into the game thanks to Clemons, who had 11 points in the quarter, and trailed 33-26 at halftime.
Unfortunately, West Lowndes never could get going. It started the third quarter 1 of 10 from the field with three turnovers and fell behind by as many as 15. A similar stretch in the fourth quarter in which West Lowndes went 0 of 6 from the field and committed four turnovers proved to be its undoing because Bridges’ 3-pointer had cut the deficit to 50-44 with 4:53 to go.
“We had momentum on our side,” Phinisey said. “The pressure of the situation, I guess, got the better of them. We didn’t capitalize on shots and we didn’t make opportunities for ourselves. We had cracks, but we played a strong game. I am very proud of what they did.
“(Our pressure defense) worked, but just like anything, when it is done ineffectively or when confusion happens on the court it leads to confusion on the scoreboard. That is probably the biggest example of that tonight. There was a lot of confusion.
“We haven’t played a team as challenging in our region as McAdams. I think they allowed themselves to beat themselves, and I take my part in it. Everybody could have done more tonight.”
On Friday against Sacred Heart, West Lowndes scored the first 21 points and never looked back. They led 40-10 at halftime as Phinisey rested her starters at the beginning of the third quarter. Sacred Heart used an 11-0 run to open the second half, but Phinisey inserted Clemons and Ariel “Mookie” Boswell into the game with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left to play in the quarter. Clemons finished with a team-high 19 points to lead four players in double figures. Shynice Watt (14), Boswell (13), and Edmariah Sherrod (10) also scored in double figures.
Boswell said she has been called “Mookie” ever since she was born. She said she doesn’t know how her grandfather, Sylvester Mosley, came up with the nickname, but she admitted she likes it. As a freshman point guard, she feels the nickname describes her hard-working tendencies.
“It motivates me to do my best on the court,” Boswell said.
“Mookie” isn’t the only nickname in Boswell’s family. With two brothers and six sisters, Boswell said brother Johnny Beamon Jr., a former football standout at New Hope High, is nicknamed “BeBe,” while her other brother Cardelle Foote, who used to play football at Noxubee County High, is nicknamed “Weedy.”
Boswell said she doesn’t know how her brothers earned those nicknames given to them by her father, Johnny Beamon Sr.
Phinisey said Boswell is Clemons’ “right-hand man.” She said Boswell also has earned the respect of her teammates.
“She will be continue to be that captain and spirt they need,” Phinisey said. “She is a great kid.”
Phinisey, who teaches math at the high school and at West Lowndes Middle School, took over the program on Jan. 8 for coach Jasmine Boyd. West Lowndes Principal Cynthia McMath, who was at the game Friday, said a coaching change was made in the middle of the season due to coaching philosophy.
“It was a big change,” Phinisey said. “It is humbling. I guess that is the best way to say it. The girls have been really accepting and have made it a lot easier. I enjoy it.”
Phinisey’s work as volleyball coach and as cheerleading coach at the school helped make her transition to girls basketball coach easier. She said she taught all but two of the members of the girls basketball team, which helped her build trust and respect with the players. The results have followed on the court, as West Lowndes was undefeated in Class 1A, Region 5 play in the regular season. West Lowndes then won the region title at West Lowndes High to earn a No. 1 seed that resulted in back-to-back home games to open the Class 1A tournament.
“They already had my respect, and I already had theirs,” Phinisey said. “That was one obstacle I feel a lot of new coaches walk into that I just didn’t have. They trust my judgment, and I trust that they are going to do what they should do.”
Phinisey said she incorporated a few new things but left a lot in place because she feels there is a solid program in place. She said the girls have worked together and enjoy what they do, which has made it fun for her to be a part of the success.
“They want to win, and they know this is probably the most optimal team West Lowndes has seen in a while,” Phinisey said. “We try to keep that the forefront of what we’re doing and make sure they realize the advantage they have this year and they run with it.
“They have gotten a couple of years under their belt working together. This being LaQuesha’s senior year, she is a huge part of our team. They respect her. They trust that on the floor she is going to help and support them and be what they need her to be. She is the backbone.”
McAdams will advance to face the winner of the Saturday’s game between Biggersville and Ashland. Those winners will play at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Mississippi Coliseum. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals of the Class 1A State tournament, also at Mississippi Coliseum, on March 9.
Softball
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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