SUMRALL – A strong first quarter was all Oak Grove needed to get the best of Sumrall as the Lady Warriors opened Tuesday night’s game with a 19-0 start to come out with a 58-30 victory to clinch the Lamar County tournament title.
For Oak Grove (5-4), the win was needed momentum as the Lady Warriors lost five key players from last season.
“We struggled kind of early in the season with our first seven to eight games,” Oak Grove coach Mark Swindle said. “We are just trying to get chemistry. We are just kind of getting a feel for each other. We have several sophomores who are getting to play. I feel good about what we have going on. It’s a matter of just keep playing.
“It doesn’t happen very often (that you shut out a team in a quarter), but you don’t really emphasize it too much. All you want to do is guard the best you can every possession and see how it goes.”
On both sides of the ball, Oak Grove took full control of the paint. Sparking the Lady Warriors’ offense was Shalea Boddie, as she scored eight of her 13 points in the first quarter.
“She’s a good player and is a senior,” Swindle said. “She’s so unselfish. Sometimes I tell her that she has to look for her shot. She’ll see that extra man and make a good pass. She’s a good player and very smart.
On the defensive side, post players Shalea Body and Jordyn Henry primarily kept Sumrall (7-5) out of the paint and combined for 16 points.
“Jordyn does a good job (inside), and so does Kera Mingo,” Swindle said. “We knew they were going to play zone, and we like to shoot three, but I told them to go inside.”
At the same time, Sumrall’s lack of success on the inside stemmed from injuries with their main post players missing due to an illness and hamstring problems.
“It was tough,” Sumrall coach Dodie Robertson said. “Right before the game, we had two starters go out. That took a lot of offense out of our lineup.
“I think it kind of got into their heads, but realistically (Oak Grove) is super athletic. I almost couldn’t tell the difference between the first group and their third group as far as it went for us.”
The Lady Bobcats finally got on the board three minutes into the second quarter after Ella Robertson managed to get a shot off inside the paint. Robertson gave Sumrall some needed life in the quarter as she scored 12 of her 15 team-leading points in the quarter. Notably, Robertson hit four shots from beyond the arc.
“(Ella) could hardly get her shot off,” Robertson said. “They did a good job of getting over the screens. She played hard and gave us a little fire to build on.
“We didn’t score a lot of points, but I have to give the girls credit because they played with a lot of effort.”
In the second half, Oak Grove maintained its dominance and outscored Sumrall 29-15.
“We guarded pretty well, too,” Swindle said. “We have some good defenders when we pay attention, and that’s what I’m excited about the most.
“I think we are about 10 or 11 deep, so I needed everybody to get some reps and be ready for the big games that are coming up.”
Sumrall returns to action on Friday as the Lady Bobcats host Purvis to open region play, while Oak Grove returns home to host crosstown rival Hattiesburg on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
