A run to a second-straight Class 4A state championship crown began this week for the Louisville girls basketball team and it came at home.
The Lady Wildcats earned the No. 2 seed out of their Class 4A, Region 4 after finishing as a runner up to the district title in the tournament held at Northeast Lauderdale last week. It’s the same finish that LHS had in the regular season as they couldn’t get past the new faces of Choctaw Central who made its debut in 4A this season after several years of dominant play in 3A.
There was no district trophy to be had, but the Lady Wildcats (18-8) did get that all important home game. They played Shannon on Tuesday night at home in a game. It was a game that Morris expected would be difficult if his players weren’t ready.
“I think that we’ll see a team that is very athletic. They play hard and get after you,” Morris said. “We have to come out focus and with energy and do what we do in terms of defending with a purpose. Whether they go zone or man, we have to be prepared for that.”
A victory has the Lady Wildcats matched up with the winner of Ripley and Yazoo City in a game to be played on Friday night.
After finishing the regular season with games against Leake Central and CCHS, the Lady Wildcats would play both of those teams yet again in the tournament for the second-consecutive week. LHS got a bye on Tuesday and were pushed through to the semifinals due to a strong regular season in district play and the Lady Gators were their opponents on Thursday.
LHS defeated Leake Central 59-37 and 83-37 in the two games played earlier in the year and head coach Fred Morris said they just did enough this time around at Northeast. LHS still won the game handily 61-43 and were ready for a third matchup this season against the Lady Warriors on Friday.
In the first game this season against CCHS, the Lady Wildcats fought to a close 54-51 loss but they dropped the game a week earlier 72-61 in Philadelphia. It was yet another 11-point loss in the tournament championship game as the LHS couldn’t quite get over the hump despite closing within five points on several occasions in the second half.
“We came out flat and against good teams such as Choctaw Central, you’ve got to play 32 minutes of solid basketball,” Morris said. “We didn’t do that, especially on the defensive end. We didn’t match their intensity and gave up too many 50/50 balls. We struggled in our half-court offense, too.”
BOYS
The Wildcats came into the tournament as the No. 4 seed but they fought all the way to the title game and nearly took home the trophy before falling just short at Northeast Lauderdale.
First on the docket was the host team and No. 5 seeded Northeast. Louisville had to come back in the second half from a deficit and pull it out late in a 58-57 victory to beat Northeast. That earned them a guaranteed spot in the playoffs and also had them matched up with No. 1 Kosciusko in the semifinals.
The Whippets had already taken two games from the Wildcats this season and were previously unbeaten in Region 4 play this season. On Thursday night, however, it was all about the Wildcats as LHS knocked off the regular season champs 40-35 to earn a spot in the championship game on Friday night.
Choctaw Central was the opponent on the other side as the Warriors had overcome a No. 3 seed to get to the title game. Both teams battled closely throughout the majority of the game with Vasedrick Culpepper scoring the first seven points of the game as the Wildcats got out to an 11-2 start. But the Warriors came back to tie it up at 14 after one quarter.
Culpepper hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter to give them as much as a seven-point lead in that frame but again CCHS continued to fight back and they closed the deficit to 36-33 at the half. In the third quarter, that lead grew to eight points and it was a five-point game after three quarters before the Warriors surged ahead.
With 1 minute left, the game was tied as Ty Cooper muscled a 3-point play. The Wildcats couldn’t get the lead back, however, as they dropped a heartbreaking 64-59 ball game.
Even in defeat, the Wildcats came out well from the district tournament. They went from a No. 4 seed in the district to the No. 2 and earned themselves a home playoff game.
After the Lady Wildcats played Shannon on Tuesday night, the Wildcats followed against the boys team. That game occurred after press time, but a win would pit the Wildcats against the winner of Corinth and Clarksdale.
