By T. Scott Boatright
Simsboro’s Lady Tigers knew what they were facing against the No. 9 team in Class B girls power rankings.
And yes, Quitman rolled to a 52-41 over the Lady Tigers inside the SHS Gym.
But that doesn’t mean Simsboro made it easy for the Lady Wolverines.
In fact, the Lady Tigers moved out on top 9-5 in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the contest on a midrange jumper by Curniya McCallister before Quitman scored 10 unanswered points to move out to a 15-9 advantage at the end of the opening stanza.
But the Lady Tigers were undaunted, tying the game at 17-17 with 3:58 remaining in the first half on a midrange jumper from the left side by McCallister.
Simsboro regained the lead with 3:02 left before halftime as McCallister hit a short jumper and drew a foul and added a free throw to put the Lady Tigers on top 20-19.
Quitman moved out in front by four down the stretch of the first half before the Lady Tigers roared back to send the teams into the locker rooms at intermission tied at 17-17.
“They should be really proud of themselves honestly,” Wodach said of his Lady Tigers. “It’s just such a learning process for them. We’re so young with seventh- and eighth-graders playing along with sophomores and freshmen.
“We’re playing teams that are mainly juniors and seniors. The youngest team we’ve played against were mainly sophomores and juniors, I’m not totally sure what it was, but they’re all older than us. That’s not a knock against this team. That’s how well they’re playing. They’re staying competitive. But they’re still gaining experience that will help them keep getting better e and better.”
That experience advantage Quitman started showing in the third quarter as strong shooting by sophomore Allie Robertson and junior Ann Claire Leach pushed the Lady Wolverines out to a 40-35 lead by the end of the third quarter.
“No. 12 (Robertson) can really shoot it — I mean really shoot it,” Wodach said. “She made some key buckets on transition. And (No.) 23 (Leach) reminds me a lot of Reese (Brown) from Choudrant. They do such a good job of making their teammates better and they’re so solid. They don’t take bad shots. They’re tough and obviously better than we were tonight.”
Quitman’s biggest lead of the night came with 5:55 remaining in the contest as Sapp made a steal and layup to put the Lady Wolverines on top 48-35 as they let Simsboro no closer than 13 points back the rest of the way.
Leach led Quitman with 16 points while Robertson added 12, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Lazorreya Davis topped the Lady Tigers with 17 points while McCallister added nine, Madi Mitchell chipped in with seven.
Jatasia Sears and Zakiyah Jiles each totaled three points for Simsboro while Bre Williams rounded out Simsboro’s scoring with a third quarter basket.
“All we can do is keep fighting and keep growing,” Wodach said. “This team has a bright future. We’re just trying to get through some growing pains right now. It just kind of got away from us in that last quarter. But that’s all part of being so young. This team should be proud of themselves. I know I’m proud of them.”
