By T. Scott Boatright
QUITMAN — Simsboro’s Lady Tigers knew they would have had trouble at full strength.
But playing shorthanded against a formidable Quitman squad was too much to overcome.
The Lady Wolverines led from start to finish Thursday night as Quitman captured the District 1-B girls basketball team by defeating Simsboro 53-32 inside the QHS gym.
Simsboro was missing one of its top scorers in Curniya McAllister, and with the Lady Tigers lacking that offensive ammunition, Quitman slowly but surely pulled away, leading 16-6 by the end of the opening stanza and 28-12 at halftime.
“Quitman is a really good team,” said Lady Tigers coach Matt Herring. “They’re well coached and they play hard. I was missing one of my starters tonight who’s usually one of my leading scorers, and that didn’t help us against a team that good. We played hard and I’m proud of the team’s effort. Quitman was just the better team out there tonight.”
Playing with McAllister, Herring was forced to look to young Dakota Powell to quarterback his team’s offense, and the eighth-grader came through, totaling five points.
“It’s exciting to watch a girl who’s only in the eighth grade go up against varsity players and not just hold her own, but kind of stand out in the game,” Herring said of Powell. “She stepped up and kind of filled that hole we had tonight.
“The thing is, it’s been coming all year. Especially in the last two or three games she’s picked up her scoring and you’ve been able to see the confidence building in her. It’s just starting to click for her right now. Four more years of her? The sky’s the limit for us and I’m really excited about that.”
Kayla Mitchell led the Lady Tigers with seven points and Herring said her outside shooting in recent games is coming at the right time for his Lady Tigers.
“She’s been picking up her game throughout the district season,” Herring said of Mitchell. “Her outside shooting is going to be key for us going into the playoffs with Dakota and Curniya and their penetration, and then taking it to the basket or kicking it to Mitchell. Graham’s been shooting the ball much better, too, and that’s something the whole team can feed off of.
Anna Leach led Quitman with 15 points, scoring 13 of those in the second half.
Senior post player Cali Deal added 12 points for the Lady Wolverines while Taylor Borland chipped in with 11.
“We couldn’t keep up with their scoring power,” Herring said. “They’ve got a well put together team and I look for them to make some noise in the playoffs. Cali Deal is the real deal. She’s definitely a big presence down in the paint.”
Quitman closed out regular-season play at 20-9 overall and 7-0 in 1-B action while Simsboro will head into the girls playoffs at 13-14.
