Although the McComb High School girls basketball team fell two wins shy of a Mississippi High School Activities Association 4A State Championship, two players kept them in the game during the semifinals.
The Lady Tigers (22-10, 7-3) lost to eventual state champion Quitman 43-42 at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson March 7. In the loss, junior point guard Mylisha Hammond finished with 10 points, five assists and three steals. Sophomore shooting guard Dellesheonia Dixon had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Both athletes are the Enterprise-Journal Players of the Week.
Lady Tigers head coach Charlton Grey said Hammond and Dixon were exciting to watch on the break.
“On the open court, they’re very exciting,” Grey said. “They learned the offense well. They connected very well as a point guard and a 2 guard.”
Dixon said the Lady Tigers’ defense and ability to score gave them a chance to win.
“I had a couple layups to bring us back in the game, but mostly, I would say our team effort helped me score more,” she said, noting she hit a shot in the last minute to put the Lady Tigers ahead 42-40.
Hammond praised her team for having a chance to win after falling into an early deficit.
“We started out real slow, but then we realized we’ve got to play harder to try to get the ring,” she said. “Even though we fell by a point, I felt like we did real good catching up with them.”
Dixon said lack of rebounding hurt McComb down the stretch.
Hammond said missing free throws and layups caused problems for the Lady Tigers against Quitman. McComb was 5 of 14 from the free throw line, while Hammond and Dixon were each 2 of 6.
While the Lady Tigers did not complete their ultimate goal, they had no regrets about their efforts. The Lady Tigers started the season 3-6, but won the Region 6-4A district tournament at McComb and just missed a state championship.
“I’m just very excited for the young ladies,” Grey said. “The young ladies came a long way and they fought hard each and every game. Just the progress alone is a great deal of success.”
Grey said the team starts weight training for the 2016-17 season next week. The three seniors on the next year’s team will be Hammond, guard and forward Brandy Patterson and forward Kevanique Butler.
“I could say our team had a really great season,” Dixon said about 2015-16. “We played our heart out even though we didn’t pull through. We still never gave up. We tried as hard as we can.”
As a point guard, Hammond has gotten her teammates involved on the court. She said she plans to step up her leadership off the court as a senior.
“A game like that helped us learn what we’ve got to work on,” she said. “We’ve got to work harder this summer to get ready for next season. I felt we did good this year. Everybody came together and played hard.”
