From one of the nation’s top players to one of Mississippi’s top teams, Amite County’s road to the first state championship in school history doesn’t get any easier.
Just several days after facing Scott Central phenom Victoria Vivians, who poured in 54 points, Amite County gets the pleasure of playing the defending Class 2A girls state champion.
It’s not exactly an ideal situation, especially for Amite County, which is making its first appearance at the Big House. The Lady Trojans will take on New Site in Friday’s 2A state semifinals at 6:30 p.m. in the Mississippi Coliseum.
“It’s David versus Goliath,” Amite County coach Marcus Flippin said. “The defending state champions versus the new kids on the block. But we’re going to give them our best shot.”
Many never even gave Amite County (23-9) a chance to win its district, let alone make it past the 2A South State tournament and into the state semifinals.
But the Lady Trojans did it with an upset win over Lake in the 2A South State semifinals on Feb. 22 and did so with a young, inexperienced nucleus. They start one senior — LaMisheon Woodside, who averages a team-high 13 points per game — a sophomore, two freshmen and an eighth-grader, who just happens to lead the team at point guard.
Naturally, New Site returns four of its five top scorers from the 2012 state championship squad and boast a wealth of experience.
“All five starters score in double figures. They aren’t extremely fast but they are big, strong and well coached,” Flippin said. “… having been (to the Big House) before, that really poses some problems for a team that young.”
Amite County eighth grader Frederick Smith will have the task of going up against 5-foot-9 point guard Christy Clark, who is New Site’s leading scorer at 13.9 points per game.
It’s quite a task for a teenager who hasn’t even hit high school yet. That’s probably the least of Amite County’s worries, however.
With a team as young as the Lady Trojans, Flippin hopes they won’t fold under pressure in front the large crowds the Coliseum usually hosts.
Flippin will try to use his past experiences as a rule of thumb for his players. Flippin, who is in his third year at Amite County, made four trips to Jackson, including a 3A state championship trophy in 2007, during his nine years as South Pike’s coach.
“I try to explain to them how it is and tell through my past experiences,” Flippin said. “But until they walk out there on the court, there’s no way I can explain how it actually feels to walk in there and hear them say ‘Welcome to the Big House.’ ”
Flippin believes they’ll be fine, considering the “b-word” that has somewhat become a team motto.
“We wear on our shirts ‘We believe.’ We believe we can do it if we put forth the effort,” he said. “I keep drilling that in their head. You gotta believe you can do this.”
As much as Amite County might have believed last weekend against Scott Central, it failed to amount to anything. Vivians, a junior who has received scholarship offers from nearly every major Division I college program, single-handedly beat Amite County in the South State championship as she scored 54 of Scott Central’s 64 points in a 64-44 win.
While hardly a deflating loss considering Amite County had already clinched a spot in Jackson, the performance was an eye-opener to Flippin’s players.
“As you know, Vivians is one of the best players in the nation, and it showed us exactly what it takes to be the best,” Flippin said. “Now they know where they want to be. It was a great lesson.”
Amite County played a competitive non-conference schedule up against the likes of McComb, South Pike, North Pike, Franklin County and Hinds AHS, all of which made the playoffs in their respective classes.
Although the Lady Trojans started just 10-7, the competition made the district slate seem like a cake walk. Amite County was 9-1 in district play and has now won 13 of its last 15 games.
It’s those type of lessons that have helped ready Amite County for the long haul, even if that means several years down the road.
“Our girls know they’re not there yet but we can measure and see how far away are we from being a good team,” Flippin said. “So we’re going to play a good team, and win or lose, when we leave, we’ll know at that point how far we need to go.”
