The Louisville Lady Wildcats remained undefeated in the new calendar year with a pair of Region 4-4A wins last week that stretched their win streak to four games and kept their record in region contests pristine.
Areyanna Hunter provided Louisville with an offensive spark at home against Leake Central as her 18-point effort helped lift the Lady Wildcats to a 61-46 victory last Tuesday. Ajira Thompkins tallied 14 points, and Jalen Ingram ended with 10 points.
“We kind of came out slow with Leake,” Louisville coach Kenyon Ross said. “We did not have a good game offensively or defensively against Leake Central at all, but it’s just good that we had enough players that scored. I think maybe seven girls scored for us, I believe, so that’s a good job of other people stepping up when some of the main people are not having those games they usually have.”
Louisville (13-2, 3-0) took a 16-9 lead into the second quarter, and although the Lady Wildcats managed just six points in the period, they still led 22-19 at halftime. Louisville’s offense regained its traction in the third quarter, as it produced 16 points while the defense held Leake Central (9-11, 1-1) to eight points. Louisville outscored Leake Central 23-19 in the fourth quarter.
Leake Central’s Candace Primer scored a team-high 13 points, while Englysh Barton contributed with 10. The Lady Gators connected on just three of their 19 3-point attempts, and they finished the contest with a field goal percentage of 33 percent.
Louisville’s offense proved to be no match for Noxubee County (0-11, 0-4), as the Lady Wildcats earned a decisive 69-17 win on the road over the Lady Tigers in Friday’s contest.
The Lady Wildcats darted out to a 22-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, and they padded their lead to 45-5 at halftime. Louisville outscored Noxubee County 22-5 in the third quarter, while Noxubee County tallied seven points to Louisville’s two in the final period.
“We’re trying to work on how we start a ball game, because like I said, we’re starting off slow,” Ross said. “We’re in district play now, so every game matters, and we’re trying to make sure that we get ready for the district tournament and also the playoffs.”
Kiersten Ball’s and Jalen Ingram’s 12 points apiece led all Louisville scorers. Lymyia Fifer added 10 points. Eleven Lady Wildcat players ended with points.
The Lady Wildcats host New Hope (7-10, 1-1) on Tuesday and travel to Choctaw County (2-10, 0-0) on Friday.
BOYS
The Louisville (9-6, 2-1) boys basketball program posted two wins in two games last week to improve their overall record to 9-6 while remaining undefeated in region play at 2-0.
The Wildcats used a strong first-half defensive effort last Tuesday to secure a 70-49 win at home over Leake Central. Louisville held Leake Central (9-10, 1-1) to just 16 points through the first two quarters before the Gators’ offense tallied 14 and 19 points in the final two frames.
“Every game in our district for our boys is going to be a fight,” Ross said. “We always talk about making sure that you handle your business at home because every team in the district for the boys is good.”
Bryandrea Shumaker had a team-high 13 points for Louisville, while Vasedrick Culbertson and Tyrell Thames poured in 12 points apiece. Shemar Eiland finished with nine points.
Shumaker’s strong shooting against Leake Central carried over to Louisville’s road contest against Noxubee County (5-7, 0-3) Friday, as he exploded for 20 points in the Wildcats’ 54-51 win against the Tigers.
“Shumaker’s one of those spark kids,” Ross said. “When you get a kid who can come off the bench, who nobody’s not really concentrating on, it helps the team tremendously. When you have a kid who averages almost 16 points for the week, that’s the spark plug you need. He’s one of those athletic kids who can run. We kind of like to use him more for his speed to help with our defensive pressure, but he had a good week shooting the ball.”
The Wildcats and Tigers began the second quarter with the score tied at 14 before Louisville outscored Noxubee County 15-9 in the period to lead 29-23. The Wildcats added 14 more points in the third quarter while the Tigers scored eight. Noxubee County erupted for 20 fourth-quarter points, but Louisville countered with 11 points to preserve the victory.
"Seedings will be determine by how good you handle your business at home, and you have to steal one on the road,” Ross said. “I think my guys did pretty (last) week of stealing one on the road and playing with a lot of energy at home.”
Noxubee County’s David Chandler ended with 12 points, while Zeterrius Rice and Eldrick Hopskins each tallied nine points.
Louisville hosts New Hope (9-8, 2-0) on Tuesday and visits Choctaw County (2-11, 0-0) on Friday.
