STARKVILLE — It took most of three quarters for the Starkville High School girls basketball team to take control of Monday night’s MHSAA Class 6A tournament game against Center Hill, and it took barely 30 seconds to give it right back.
But whatever momentum Center Hill took going into the fourth quarter evaporated just as quickly, and when the dust cleared it was the Yellow Jackets who advanced.
Freshman Zariyah Edwards scored 28 points, junior Jamaica Young totaled 17 points, and the Yellow Jackets fended off a spirited challenge from the Mustangs and posted a 59-57 victory in the opening round at Starkville High School.
“I’m so proud of the way they did not falter,” Starkville coach Kristie Williams said. “They could have easily given up. We made a run, they made a run, and once we were able to get a run in that fourth quarter we were able to hold on to it.”
They held on to it because Edwards and Young scored all of the Jackets’ points during an 11-3 run that meant the Mustangs would be scrambling to catch up in the closing minutes. In one 13-second stretch, Edwards put back an offensive rebound, emphatically grabbed a rebound on the other end, drew a foul and hit both ends of a one-and-one to cap the run and give Starkville a 51-43 lead.
The Jackets shot 71 percent from the line, certainly welcome news for Williams.
“Free throws became our friend tonight,” she said with a big smile. “I was really pleased with our effort on that because we really have been shooting a lot of them.”
As did the Mustangs. But while Center Hill took eight more free throws than the Yellow Jackets, they only converted three more, a difference that move than covers the final margin.
Despite Center Hill’s record (8-15), Williams was not surprised the Mustangs gave her team fits for most of the game.
“They’ve got some quick guards,” she said. “You miss a layup on this end, two or three seconds later they’re shooting a layup on their end.”
That was exactly what started the dangerous run with which Center Hill closed the third quarter. The Jackets had reeled off eight consecutive points, capped by play begun by Nakeria Scales intercepting a pass and pushing the ball back the other way and capped by yet another puback by Edwards.
That led to a Center Hill timeout, and coming out of the timeout Starkville came up with a steal and seemed primed to bury the Mustangs with another fast break. But the laup was missed, and seconds later Madison Hughes was driving to the hole for a layup that started a six-point run by Center Hill.
A traveling call and another missed layup fueled the run, which ended when Kayleigh Prentiss was fouled with just 1.2 seconds left in the quarter and converted both free throws to pull the visitors within two.
But, as Williams noted, the Yellow Jackets didn’t fold, and with Edwards scoring seven points and Young adding six during the fourth quarter, Starkville never gave up the lead over the final eight minutes. Two Center Hill baskets in the final 15 seconds made the score look closer.
In the end, the power of Edwards down low was too much for the Mustangs. Williams said this is just the beginning.
“She’s just starting,” Williams said of Edwards. “The future is so bright for her. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for her and for us.
“She’s been working very hard. She listens, she wants to get better, and we can’t ask for anything more. She has a good head on her shoulders. She doesn’t get rattled easily. Her upside is just tremendous.”
But right now, Horn Lake is next on the agenda for Starkville. Although the Eagles have 20 wins, they finished in a three-way tie atop Region 3 and earned the top seed on a tiebreaker.
“They’re very talented,” Williams said of the Eagles. “They handle the ball very well. Their guards are tremendous on defense. It’s going to come down to hustle, taking care of the ball and good defense on our side.
“We’ve just got to clean up and polish these next couple of days and come out on Friday night.”
Game time at Horn Lake is 7 p.m. Friday.
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