Oak Grove girls’ coach Mark Swindle had to turn to the high school’s archives to find the last time a Lady Warriors team advanced this far in the postseason. The 1984 State Championship was all he could find.
It’s been 34 years.
Of course, Oak Grove has been in a position to make a long playoff run in recent years, but it has fallen short the last two seasons with second-round exits. But now, Oak Grove (22-5) is set to play Tupelo (22-10) in the 6A Quarterfinals Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on Jackson State’s campus.
“That was a game that’s been a difference maker three years in a row,” Swindle said. “For us, to get to that next level is really exciting. I think the girls are really excited about the opportunity to win this thing. We’re not just out here to play and we’re not just proud to be here. We have a goal, and that’s what we want to do.”
The Lady Warriors’ offense was non-threatening in the first half of the second-round game with Brandon Friday. They scored eight points in the first quarter then 11 more in the second to go into the second half trailing 25-19. Senior Lekera Hughes, who is coming back from a knee injury, came into the game in the second half for her first significant minutes of the season, and she boosted the rest of the team to complete the comeback.
“Just getting her back was big,” Swindle said. “I knew if she got open she was going to make the shot. She’s just that kind of player. It just gave a big boost for us and energy, and her 10 points helped, too.”
It’s still uncertain how much she can play against Tupelo, and she played nearly all of the 16 second-half minutes Friday. While Swindle wasn’t sure how much she’ll play Saturday, her defensive effort against Brandon proved she’s ready for a large workload.
While Hughes was out, the Lady Warriors still posted a 21-5 record and claimed a Region Title, as seniors Umaya Harvey and Janay Baxter and juniors Jazmin Grayson and Alesha Temple led the team to this position. If Hughes is limited like she was Friday, the Lady Warriors can still win, but they’ll need a better start to a game than they had against Brandon.
“I don’t really know what was going on,” Swindle said. “Defensively, some of the things we set out to do, we didn’t do. We knew we had to box out this one particular player, and a couple of times we didn’t do it. Then, the shooter they had hadn’t made five 3s all year, and she made five (in the game). It’s just a deal when you say somebody can’t shoot and they make shots.”
Since Friday’s win, Swindle dove headfirst into Tupelo’s game film. The Lady Warriors practiced inside Southern Miss’ Reed Green Coliseum Monday to get the depth-perception feel and the girls will scrimmage the Oak Grove ninth-grade boys’ team Tuesday to help with adapting to Tupelo’s team speed. Other than that, Swindle wants to keep this week as normal as possible.
The Lady Golden Wave (22-10) is a guard-oriented team that likes to shoot the ball quickly, according to Swindle. The pressure Tupelo puts on teams is nothing new for Oak Grove either.
“They’re looking to shoot it early,” Swindle said. “I was trying to look at some offensive things they like to do, if they down-screen or back-screen, I didn’t see any of that. It was mainly a drive, one-on-one play then a shot or a penetrate-and-kick type of deal. It’s going to be street ball for us trying to guard, and we can. It’s just a matter of getting prepared.”
On the flip side, Swindle likes his team’s advantage in the paint. Contrary to what the Lady Warriors had to deal with against Brandon, Tupelo doesn’t have a lot of post-presence.
“I think we can get some easy baskets,” he said. “I see some things they do that our offense can really take advantage of in that area. Plus, we have Lekera on the wing ready to shoot the ball. That’s always helpful.”
