In Fred Morris’ first week as head coach of the defending MHSAA Class 4A state champions from Louisville, the Lady Wildcats can treat things as a success.
The team went 1-1 in week one but took a lot of good away from how things came out. Louisville won the opening game of the season against New Hope in the Choctaw Central Classic 72-58.
Last Saturday, they got a chance to measure where they are as a team in a big way as they went up against Cass 6A foe Tupelo in the Pontotoc Classic. Though they came up short in a 55-40 loss to the undefeated Golden Wave, the Lady Wildcats got better as a team.
The next game on their schedule is next Thursday against Kemper County as they’re back home.
Noxapater Hoops tips off
By Austin Bishop
Winston County Journal
The boys and girls varsity basketball teams of Noxapater High School began their season on Tuesday with a trip to Lake.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers then will take part in the J.Z. George Invitational on Thursday and Saturday. Noxapater will face the Kosciusko Boys and girls at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the round-robin event on Thursday, while taking Friday off before facing host JZG on Saturday. Those times were not set as of press time.
The boys teams will be coached by Jonathan Pope, while Rena Hickman will be leading the girls.
Next week the Tigers will entertain Clarkdale on Tuesday, Nov. 19 for their home opener.
Pats open hoops
season with victory
By Robbie Faulk
Winston County Journal
First-year Winston Academy boys coach Jordan Graham wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to get from his team in the first week of the season.
With the football team getting to the playoffs, most of the team didn’t arrive to basketball practice until a couple of days before the first game against Starkville Christian. With very little practice time together or time to get in basketball shape, the Patriots still found a way to start 1-0 as they knocked off the visitors 47-31 last Tuesday.
“I was really impressed with them. The first game back only having two practices, I thought they did a really good job,” Graham said of his team. “We made some shots which was good to see early in the season and we did well against their defensive sets. It was really good.”
Brylee Wall led the way with 14 points in the win with 11 points from Johnson Wells as two of the many football players on the team had a good first showing.
“I thought the first two 3-pointers that (Wall) made really got us going offensively,” Graham said. “Cage Palmer did a really good job handling the ball and did a good job reading the defense. Johnson Wells played our high post and made some really good strong plays. Evan Willis got some big rebounds for us and Will Catt made some big threes that helped us. I was really impressed with them.”
Game two of the season came on Monday night after press time, but the Patriots had to go head to head with Kirk Academy on the road. On Friday, Graham will match up against former WA coach Justin Childs who is now at Delta Streets Academy in Greenwood.
Both teams are tremendous early-season challenges for Graham and his players as they prepare themselves for a tough schedule ahead in district play as well.
“(Kirk has) one of the top players in the state in Chase Rose. He’s a 6’5 guard that can do it all. He’s a fantastic player so we’ll have our hands full with him. Historically they’ve been a good team. They’ve got a new coach this year so I’m limited on the film I could study on them,” Graham said.
“From seeing (Delta Streets) this summer the first thing that stood out to me was athleticism. They can stretch the floor and create matchup nightmares. Justin has a great basketball mind so he’ll put them in position where they can score. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
GIRLS
The Lady Patriots were also seeing their debut of a new head coach in Kelley Greer and she finished her first week with a record of 1-1.
In game one of the season, the Lady Patriots came up short against a tough Starkville Christian team 31-22. Micha Carr led the way with seven points. They were able to get their first win of the Greer era against Hebron Christian last week as they won 30-28 and Dshiya Jones had 10 points.
The girls also played Kirk on Monday in a rematch of a 57-34 preseason loss that they had a couple of weeks ago in the Madison-Ridgeland Academy preseason tournament. They played at Winona Christian on Tuesday night to cap off the week.
