All season long, the Louisville Lady Wildcats have been a dominant force.
With the exception of losses to the defending class 5A state champions of Neshoba Central and Class 6A state title contender Tupelo, the Lady Wildcats have won every game this year. Class 4A has felt the damage of the talented LHS squad this year, but the big test was coming last week on the road at Choctaw Central.
Against one of the state’s most impressive programs year after year, it was the Lady Cats that would shine. LHS came back to Winston County with a monster win in their hands in a 62-48 win and Mitchell McCurry couldn’t have been happier.
“I think the biggest key was the focus. They came in very focus driven,” McCurry said of his team. “We talked a lot about what their goals are, and their goal is to win championships. Choctaw Central is the standard for championships. My players weren’t afraid of the moment. We have some great athletes and they’re all great basketball players- Jykia Clemons is the motor that make the machine go and Jacilyn Houston and Aniyah Hunter fill it up every night.”
The big key for McCurry, however, was how his team would handle that victory. Last season after beating Choctaw Central, the Lady Cats lost the rest of the games to end the season. This time, he wanted the team to put the foot down on the pedal and that’s exactly what happened.
Staying on the road and playing at Northeast Lauderdale, LHS allowed just one point in the first quarter and didn’t surrender double digit points in the entire game. A 52-6 finish made for an impressive showing after the big win over the Lady Warriors.
“Last year the highlight of our season was when we beat Choctaw Central and we forgot about the rest of the schedule losing four-straight games,” McCurry said. “We came in very focused and driven and played hard. We play the Louisville way and don’t play the team because of the jersey.
The victory improved the Lady Cats to an impressive 19-2 on the year with a 6-0 mark in Class 4A, Region 4 play which has put them in the driver’s seat for a regular season district title. Coming up this week is a home matchup with Kosciusko on Tuesday and they will travel to West Lauderdale on Friday night.
Boys
The Wildcats gave the LHS teams a sweep at CCHS last week, but LHS came up just short in a tough loss at Northeast Lauderdale.
The Warriors entered last week’s matchup as the hottest team in Region 4. The team was winners of six-straight games, and they had an undefeated start in conference play. LHS marked the first blemish on the Region 4 schedule with a strong 60-55 win.
Having the lead most of the way, the Wildcats had to battle in the fourth quarter as both teams would score 22 points, but the Wildcats would hold on for the win. Jalen Hill led the way for the Wildcats having 18 points in the win with five rebounds. Naj Coburn finished with 17 points and five boards.
“I thought my guys definitely have what it takes to be successful once they play together and lock in,” coach Kylan Tippett said. “I saw them fight until the end even against that aggressive Choctaw Central defense. I was really impressed with how we executed and competed.”
That same success couldn’t be replicated in the next game as Northeast Lauderdale was able to come away with a 61-58 win. Hill had 16 points.
The loss stings for the Wildcats because the margin for error moving forward shrinks, but the team still controls its own destiny. The Wildcats are currently 12-10 but 4-2 in Region 4 play. With Kosciusko and West Lauderdale on the docket and WLHS being one of the two teams that have a win over LHS in district play, it’s a big week.
“Right now, I think we’re probably at 85-90% of what we can do. We’re making some careless mistakes because of the young rotation that we have,” Tippett said. “I think we struggled early because of the schedule that we played. The stamina and experience of those types of teams hurt us, but we’ve learned from those mistakes.”
