ITTA BENA — Heading into the fourth quarter, West Point girls basketball looked to have turned the corner against Canton.
The Green Wave were down six points with about three minutes left in the third, but cut the deficit to 31-30 before the final frame of Wednesday’s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A state quarterfinal matchup.
It was the run West Point needed to re-energize the team and lead to a massive comeback victory.
The Tigers, however, had other plans, coming out firing in the fourth and pushing the lead to nine points as they sent the Wave packing with a 46-42 win.
“A lot of people thought that we shouldn’t be here,” West Point head coach Montez ‘Tez’ Calvert said. “Those girls worked their tails off and every game, we got better. We came up short, a play here, a play there. Today just wasn’t our day.”
A hot start from Canton in the fourth was the exact opposite of what West Point (19-8) wanted, as the Tigers’ lead grew back to four within the first two minutes of the quarter.
From there, it became a battle against the clock for the Green Wave and an inability to crack the Tigers’ offensive system. They were finding open looks and exploiting West Point’s defense all game, benefitting from being ahead for the large majority of the game.
The more West Point had to claw back on Wednesday, the more mistakes it made from having to play against the score and the clock.
“To be honest, they weren’t better than us,” senior guard Dukiaha Jones said. “We just played down to competition and we got in our heads. … [The third quarter] was a good feeling, we just couldn’t keep it up and hold them down.”
Jones was one of two West Point players to finish in double-figures, joining teammate Rhianna Dinkins, who had a team-high 16 points in the loss.
The two were integral in getting West Point back into the game in the third, with Jones hitting a huge shot through contact and converting the free throw to tie the game.
A quick 4-0 Canton run made it a four-point TIger lead, and several broken Green Wave possessions late prevented any comeback, leaving the program feeling empty and hungry for more.
“There’s definitely a sense of urgency from them,” Calvert said. “They’re ready to do it. We have to get back to work. We had a different dynamic this year and next year, it’s going to change drastically. We’re graduating seven seniors, so it’s a turnaround, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the girls who are returning, they have some fire in their stomach.”
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