In what was expected to be a busy and competitive week of basketball action, Winston Academy saw three games cancelled but still found some productivity from it all.
Winter weather played a factor in the Patriot basketball teams dropping games against Leake Academy, Kirk Academy and then matchups in the Mid-Mississippi Challenge in Ackerman in the latter part of the week. But the two teams got a chance to take on Carroll Academy in district action on Tuesday night.
The Lady Patriots maintained their top spot in the district as the team came through with a dominant 47-12 rout. It was a well-rounded game for the entire team as the Lady Rebels put together a game plan to slow down leading scorer Julia Gregory.
Carroll held Gregory to just nine points, but eight players scored in the game and Gregory was joined with nine points by Braley Dickerson and Nia Woodard.
“I felt good going in. They tried the Box and One on Julia and that says a lot about the other players being able to step up and make plays for us,” coach Gary Beals said of the matchup. “We played really well and our defense really fueled us.”
The victory improved the Lady Pats to 11-4 on the season with a 6-0 mark in district play ahead of a big week. A win over either of the two district opponents this week would have locked up the No. 1 seed in the district ahead of the tournament coming in a couple of weeks.
The boys squad earned its second-straight district win as well with the team taking down Carroll 28-20 in a defensive slugfest. Jackson Hudson led the way with eight points and it was his hard-nosed mentality that continued to impress his coach.
“The boys played really well. They’re getting better and buying in,” Beals said. “We’re not going to come in and out-athlete anybody, we’ve just got to keep the pace and shorten the game. It gives us a chance to compete. We’re getting better at understanding our roles.
“Jackson Hudson is doing a good job inside and is so strong. He’s either going to score or go to the foul line and he’s going to defend. He does a good job of making people honest.”
While the boys team is sitting in the No. 4 spot in the district, Beals has been impressed with how much they continue to improve. WA (3-8, 2-4) started the season with seven-consecutive losses but have won three of the last four games.
This week, both teams took on Winona Christian on Tuesday and Oak Hill Academy on Thursday with a chance for the girls to seal up the district and the boys to move up again in the pecking order. With Senior Night coming next Tuesday against Columbus Christian, Beals is hoping his team finish strong and is happy with the boys progress to try and feed off of the success of the Lady Pats.
“We’re getting better and that’s coming from being in the gym,” Beals said. “We’ve got a lot of depth and that’s been a great asset. Everybody has been healthy and that’s made us better. When you have quality depth, it makes it easier.”
