There wasn’t a win for the East Webster boys in the first two contests but head coach Jon Ginn was thrilled with the progress he saw against Winona in an overtime loss and excited about the opportunity last Tuesday. With Vardaman coming to town, Ginn felt his team could take that step forward and get a big win to gain some confidence and momentum. The Wolverines got the win, but there were opportunities to do even bigger things in a 46-32 victory over the Rams. “I thought we played a lot better game on Saturday when we played Winona. I just think we weren’t as sharp on the offensive end. We were just sloppy and took some bad shots at times,” Ginn said. “There were two or three times where we had a chance to put them away and we just didn’t.” The Wolverines (1-2) remain without some of the football players as EWHS gets set for the second round of the football playoffs this Friday night. Zy Ford and Chandler Hodges are two starters that are missing as football season rages on, but both will add to a lineup that is getting more comfortable on the floor. While they’re out, EWHS is relying on players like Reid Gatlin and Cael Chrismond to carry the load as scorers. Those two had 13 points each as Gatlin hit a trio of 3-pointers in the win. Those shots didn’t fall routinely for the Wolverines and especially weren’t falling in the first quarter when they got a 10-7 lead, but Gatlin and Hayes Fason heated up in a stretch in the second. Holding on to a five-point lead, the Wolverines got two 3-pointers from Gatlin and another one from Fason in a quick stretch to take that advantage from five to 12 at 21-9 with 4 minutes remaining in the half. The Wolverines led 24-14 at that point and it never really was in doubt from there. The lead did get down to seven on a few occasions including after three quarters at 32-25, but the Wolverines did a good job in the fourth closing things out and taking home the 14-point victory. “I never felt like the game was in danger, but we just couldn’t put them away,” Ginn said. “There were a lot of plays where you’re getting ready to jump up and cheer and we shoot it too hard or leave it a little short. That’s just something that we’ve got to get in a regular rhythm of playing some games. But this is good for these guys.” The next game for the boys squad was expected to be on Tuesday against French Camp Academy. Much like the boys, the girls team was looking for its first win after falling to Amory to open the season and they were also trying to knock off some rust. After having their game against Simmons last Saturday cancelled due to quarantine by their opponents, the Lady Wolverines hadn’t been on the court in a while for an actual game. They did get back in the win column on Tuesday and they fought through a rough night shooting to get the 42-31 win. The Lady Wolverines (1-1) didn’t make a shot until 2:15 remaining in the first quarter when Meri-Grace Gregg knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 7-6 lead for the home team. EWHS would eventually go on an 8-0 run overall and they took a 12-6 lead after the first quarter. In the second, that lead quickly expanded on back-to-back 3-pointers by Gregg making it 27-17 at the half. They led 32-25 after three quarters and closed it out with a double digit win just as the boys squad did. Shan Culpepper led the way with a 17-point outing as she went 7-of-7 from the free throw line and 4-of-8 from the field. Gregg finished with 11 points hitting a trio of 3-pointers. A couple of the team’s top offensive playmakers in Lauren Graves and Whitney Winter were held to 1-of-20 from the field. “I was really pleased with our intensity – especially in the first half,” Ginn said. “I thought defensively we turned it up and gave ourselves some opportunities. Those shots from Whitney and Lauren are going to start falling. This was the first game we’ve played in 10 days. Once they get back in a real rhythm, they’ll start flowing.”
