The new experience that is McComb Lady Tigers basketball continued with a trip out of town Friday.
The team traveled to Hattiesburg to practice in the University of Southern Mississippi’s Reed-Green Coliseum.
The nearly four-hour practice session/team meeting came four days before the Lady Tigers’ contest at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Callaway in the opening round of the Class 5A girls’ basketball state championship tournament in the Jackson Coliseum.
“I wanted the girls to get a different, coliseum feel,” McComb coach Angelia Johnson said. “They did well.”
The Lady Tigers practiced until 5:30 Friday afternoon. After the on-court workout, they spent about two hours in down time, talking amongst themselves.
Johnson said the team would gather for more time together Saturday before heading to the Jackson Coliseum to scout possible opponents in later rounds.
“We’re enjoying this moment and spending time together,” Johnson said. “This feeling doesn’t come every year.”
After winning just seven games in the regular season, the Lady Tigers have suddenly caught fire, winning four out of their last five and finishing second to West Jones in the Region 5-5A tournament Feb. 4.
McComb claimed the South’s top seed and a little revenge last Saturday night with a 62-55 overtime victory over West Jones in the South State Tournament championship.
On Tuesday night, the Lady Tigers will face a Callaway squad dependent mostly on its defense.
The Lady Chargers (17-10) employ any of three defenses, including man-to-man or 2-3 and 1-2-2 zones.
On offense, the Lady Chargers have averaged 47.3 points per game this season, about a half-point more than McComb’s 46.8 ppg.
At 5 feet, 6 inches tall, senior point guard Alissa Ross is Callaway’s top scorer, averaging 15.4 points per contest. She is also the only Lady Charger averaging double figures in scoring for the season. Ross also dishes out about three assists per game.
Junior shooting guard Jammieca Hudson is second on the team in scoring, tallying nearly 7 points per game. Senior No. 3 guard Shannon Bell averages about 6 points per tilt.
In last Saturday night’s win over West Jones, Angelina Earl scored 9 of her 14 points in overtime to give McComb (10-16) its third consecutive victory.
On Friday night, Johnson reiterated that the Lady Tigers’ recent success is no surprise to her.
“It may be a surprise to everyone else,” she said, “but not to me. Our early frustration came with the lack of effort. We knew the whole time that we hadn’t really played. We’ve been getting that effort in recent weeks.”
Johnson said her players weren’t putting excessive pressure on themselves with goals. She said the Lady Tigers will go to Jackson to have fun and do their best.
“We want to play hard. That’s what we’ve been doing our past few games,” she said. “It’s no secret. Nothing has changed since the beginning of the year. We just ask the girls that they play hard.
“I like my chances in the tournament,” Johnson added. “I don’t know if anyone else does, but I do. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.”
