Notes, quotes & a thought or two...
Don’t look now but the Newton Lady Tigers are 11-0 on the season, winning three more games this past week.
It hasn’t been a cakewalk for the Lady Tigers as they have had their fair share of close games against mainly larger schools with wins over Provine (5A), Quitman (4A), Northwest Rankin (6A), Meridian (6A), and Wingfield (5A) just to name a few.
The Lady Tigers bring back one of the most experienced teams in Class 2A with all five starters back from last year. The Lady Tigers are certainly a contender in Class 2A with the ability to score and defend at the same time.
Coach Perry Fletcher has done a good job with the Lady Tigers and certainly hasn’t avoided anyone.
The Lady Tigers will get their biggest test of the season when they play Choctaw Central on Friday at East Central. Choctaw Central is coming off a win over top-ranked Pearl and have had Newton’s number the last couple of years. And if you are interested in seeing this contest, I suggest you get there early because seats will be at a premium.
Speaking of good basketball
While we are on the subject of good basketball, I think there are a couple of items worth noting.
I must tip my hat to Lake basketball coach Maurice Bowie, who has both the boys and girls teams headed in the right direction at Lake. Both teams have been pretty poor the last couple of years but Bowie has both hovering at or above the .500 mark. The Lake girls are 7-5 on the season and won two games last week. The Hornets are 5-7 but lost three games last week and all were single-digit losses. Bowie, who was a standout basketball player at East Central, certainly seems to have both teams playing better as we head into the Christmas holidays. So don’t overlook Lake as Division 4-2A play begins in January. Lake will certainly find out how good they are as they travel to Newton on Jan. 8 to open division play. Should be interesting.
Also enjoying a good season is Union. The Yellowjackets are 11-2 on the season under first-year coach John Allen Darnell. Darnell spent one year at Lake and was previously at Kemper County where he won a state championship with the Wildcats. Now he has the Yellowjackets playing good basketball and could easily be 13-2 after next week. The Jackets have a tough contest on Thursday against West Lauderdale, a team they beat 55-53 earlier this season.
Not to be overlooked are the Lady Yellowjackets. In their second season under Matt Wilbanks, Union is 9-6 on the season and has won five games in a row. They should make it six in a row against Noxapater on Tuesday and get a rematch with West Lauderdale, a team that beat them 43-36 in overtime earlier this season. Led by senior Ansley Rigby, who has stepped up her game this year, the Lady Jackets will be another tough out when division play starts in January. Circle a Jan. 15 date at Lake on your calendar, that should be fun as well.
With the strength of all three of our area teams in Division 4-2A, I’m looking forward to January. There will be some interesting contests between these three schools. Newton has dominated this division the past few years but will have their hands full this season. It should be fun.
Robbie Robertson is sports editor for The Newton County Appeal. You can email him at rrobertson12811@yahoo.com
