STARKVILLE — Harrison Central girls basketball coach Nancy Ladner felt like her team’s game against Starkville on Friday could swing in its direction with a little more attention to detail.
In the fourth quarter, the Red Rebelettes finally responded to Ladner’s plea with a near-flawless quarter.
Harrison Central used a 10-0 run to ease past Starkville 59-51 in an opening-round game of the Travis Outlaw Slam Dunk at the Hump tournament at Humphrey Coliseum. Harrison Central (12-2) extended its winning streak to nine with the victory.
“We really paid attention on defense,” said Harrison Central senior guard Jazzmun Holmes, who has signed to play basketball next season at Mississippi State. “We did the things we were supposed to do. We showed we can be pretty good when we play that way.”
Starkville (9-3) battled one of the state’s premier Class 6A programs on even terms for three quarters. However, the Lady Jackets were stung again at the free-throw line, just like in losses to Newton and Jim Hill.
“We knew Harrison Central was going to be a tough opponent,” Starkville coach Kristie William said. “Our job was to contain (Holmes). I thought we did a really good job on her. After the first quarter, we relaxed and played more of our game. Once we got the ball to (sophomore center) Kelsey (Jones) consistently, it settled everybody down.”
Starkville hit 7 of 20 free throws, including a 1-of-9 showing in the first quarter. Harrison Central was 6 of 8 in the final 2 minutes, 5 seconds when it was time to put the game away.
“We really played smart (in the fourth quarter),” Harrison Central sophomore guard Keyshaunna Johnson said. “We took smart shots and we guarded a whole lot better. We know we are going to hit our free throws because that is how you win games. You have to do the little things. You have to be focused. We weren’t where we needed to be mentally in the first half. We were though in the second half.”
Harrison Central built a 23-13 lead early in the second quarter. The Lady Jackets were dominating in the paint, but thanks to the missed free throws and a couple of failed putback attempts had little to show for their efforts.
With Tanita Thompson doing the damage on the outside and Jones controlling things underneath, Starkville worked its way back in the game.
Jariyah Covington converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Thompson followed with putback to tie it at 25 with 2:45 left in the first half. Jones had five rebounds and two blocked shots in the game-tying 12-2 run.
Harrison Central eased into halftime with a 33-32 advantage.
“We had to do something with the big girl (Jones),” Ladner said. “We had not seen Starkville play and she posed quite a challenge. The things we tried to do in the first half weren’t working. In the second half, we locked in exclusively on her. We wanted Starkville to have to run its offense through other people.
“Once we finally got a handle (on Jones), it really changed the outcome of the game.”
Jones had a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. However, her final basket came with 7:45 remaining that gave Starkville a 48-45 lead.
The Red Rebelettes then turned up the defensive pressure. Starkville suffered four turnovers in the decisive 10-0 run.
“Once we had the four-point lead, we turned the ball over too much,” Williams said. “I thought we lost our edge mentally because we played well for a long stretch. The missed free throws and missed putbacks in the lane really took their toll.”
Johnson and Holmes started the run with back-to-back basket. Harrison Central then had three players hit six-straight free throws to ease to a 55-48 advantage.
Covington hit a 3-pointer with 3:17 left, but the Lady Jackets didn’t score again.
“This was a good win because we really had to lock in and work hard on the defensive end,” Holmes said. “Everybody was disappointed when we let the 10-point lead get away. We had to work hard (when down four) to make sure we get the game back under control.”
Ladner was impressed by the aggressiveness of Starkville. She admitted it took a little time for her team to flex its muscles.
“Starkville was more aggressive in the first half, and that is disappointing,” Ladner said. “At halftime, we talked about taking the fight to them instead of sitting back and letting them take the fight to us. That was a big difference in the second half. We were more assertive, especially on the defensive end.”
Covington had 13 points for Starkville.
“(Covington) is a freshman,” Williams said. “To see her have this type of game in this type of environment will be really huge for this team. That was a freshman (Covington) and sophomore (Jones) making our offense go tonight against one of the premier teams in the state. Playing this type of game and seeing them have success is really important for us.”
Holmes led Harrison Central with 13 points, while Johnson and De’Asia McInnis added 11 and Teara Leshore had 10.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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