Drew Smith has been coaching girls basketball at the highest level in MAIS for quite a while, and he says he’s never seen it as tough as it is this season.
It was another ranked team and another tough loss for Smith’s Lady Bobcats, as they faltered in the second half against Madison-Ridgeland, dropping a 37-24 decision Tuesday night in District 1-6A action at Rees Gymnasium.
PCS (22-5 overall) lost for the third time in its last four games, dropping to 1-3 in the district. MRA improved to 24-2 and 3-1.
“We’ve hit a wall here lately, but that wall is 6A basketball,” said Smith. “This league is the toughest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in it a long time.
“We’ve played (Jackson) Prep, JA (Jackson Academy) and now MRA. Every one of them have been good games, and we’ve been in all of them. We were down by one at Prep with a chance to win it at the end and couldn’t do it.”
The Lady Bobcats hung with the Lady Patriots through the first half and into the third quarter, as both teams shot the ball poorly and committed a raft of turnovers.
MRA was 4 of 16 from the field in the first half – missing all five of its shot attempts in the second quarter – and 4 of 12 from the foul line, while giving up 11 turnovers.
But PCS couldn’t take advantage, as the Lady Bobcats were just 5 of 21 from the floor and committed 11 turnovers in the first half.
“I’ve been telling the girls all year that we have a team that can compete in this league,” Smith said. “But now we’ve got to prove it. We are young; we have young guards and that hurts us. I just think as we get older and more experienced that it’s going to pay off.”
Sophomore Addyson Sherer kept PCS in the game in the first quarter, hitting a 3-point shot, and getting a fast-break layup off a steal, as MRA led 10-6 after the first eight minutes.
Junior Meyah Doyle came alive in the second quarter, getting a putback layup, and another layup after establishing inside position, tying it up 10-10.
But PCS also missed some easy shots and converted just 3 of 11 shots in the second quarter.
“They’re just so physical, and they pressure the ball real well,” said Smith. “When they do that, it makes entry passes really hard. And at times we got it down there and we didn’t finish. In a game like that, you turn the ball over and you don’t make easy shots, it just magnifies it.”
Sophomore Catherine Turner hit a 3-pointer to put the Lady Bobcats ahead 13-12, before the Lady Patriots tied it in the final seconds of the half, which ended in a 13-13 tie.
Sherer hit a 3-ball early in the third quarter to put the Lady Bobcats up 16-13, but from that point on it was all MRA.
The Lady Patriots converted 4 of 7 shots from the field in a 10-1 run that proved to be the difference in the game.
PCS got as close as four points early in the fourth quarter, when Sherer got a steal and a fast- break layup to make it 25-21, but MRA went on an 8-1 run to seal the deal.
“It wasn’t a 13-point game,” Smith said. “They kind blew it out there at the end, but for the most part it was back and forth. We just turned the ball over too much and couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”
Sherer had 12 points to lead PCS and Doyle added 9 points. Ella Wesley Davis led MRA with 12 points and Riley Hancock scored 11.
