It was a year of learning and growth for the Louisville girls basketball team last year but also one for new head coach Mitchell McCurry.
The East Webster graduate was a successful player in multiple sports during his time in Cumberland and learned from some great coaching along the way that earned him an opportunity to become a head coach at Ethel. At Louisville last year, McCurry had a strong first season, and he got a chance to learn just how prosperous his Lady Wildcat program can be.
“It’s a tradition and a culture here where you’re expected to do well,” McCurry said. “I have the athletes so it’s understandable that it would be that way. I just wanted to make sure that we put our foot to the gas and do the little things right so we can enjoy the most success.”
This year has gotten off to a good start as McCurry has challenged some good teams early in a 5-2 start to the season. The squad has blowout wins over bigger schools like Columbus and New Hope and even challenged Tupelo though the Golden Wave won big.
It’s all part of the process for McCurry to get his team prepared to compete in Class 4A, and he’s got plenty of talent returning. The squad is led by seniors Jacilyn Houston, Aniyah Hunter, and Jykia Clemons. Hunter and Houston lead the team with over 20 points a game while Clemons is one of the biggest leaders on the team.
“We’re still building. We returned all of our starters, and we’ve got some sophomores that are stepping up and becoming the team they can become,” McCurry said. We’re a deep team this year and have an opportunity to do some big things.”
On the boys side of things, coach Kylan Tippett hasn’t returned phone calls or made an effort to give the Winston County Journal any information on his team. The Wildcats are 1-5 on the season according to MaxPreps.com and will be adding several key pieces to the roster this week after the football team just finished off another state championship win.
The two teams will play at home this week against West Lowndes on Thursday and Noxubee County on Friday. On Saturday, the Lady Wildcats are competing in the Tangle on the Trail in Pontotoc and will play against Vicksburg.
