Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
Just six days ago the Presbyterian Lady Bobcats defeated then top ranked East Rankin 40-37. Since then Presbyterian has taken the top spot in AAA basketball and with the rest in between games they looked primed to tag a big loss on Jackson Prep in front of a big home crowd last night in Hattiesburg. The Lady Bobcats needed four quarters of intensity last night as they edged a determined Jackson Prep team 42-38 to improve to 17-5 and 8-0 in their division.
Both teams traded 3-pointers to start the opening quarter. Erin Holifield nailed a three for Presbyterian while Prep’s Betsy Baird did the same. With the game tied at 7-7 and just under three minutes left in the quarter Holifield converted on two free throws on consecutive possessions to put the Lady Bobcats up 11-7. Elizabeth Wade’s jumper from the free throw line closed out the quarter with Prep only down 11-9. Claire Thompson’s 12 foot jumper tied things up at 11-11 to start the second quarter. Presbyterian then put together a 7-2 run to take an 18-13 lead at the 3:02 mark of the quarter. Katye Magee and Erin Holifield hit two free throws each and Magee’s transition bucket plus one gave the Lady Bobcats the five point cushion. Jackson Prep stayed close as two Laura Lee Smith free throws and a Laurel Bane turnaround jumper in the paint helped the Lady Patriots head into the halftime break down just 21-17.
(Above) Presbyterian's Erin Smith (#10) goes up for two of her four points.
Prep started the third quarter with five straight points as Betsy Baird hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Laura Lee Smith hit a jumper from the elbow to give the Lady Patriots a 22-21 lead, their first since 3:36 of the first quarter. Both squads traded baskets and with 4:46 left in the third quarter Prep enjoyed a slim 24-23 lead. That would prove to be their last lead of the night as Presbyterian got seven straight points from senior Shealy Molpus and a fast break bucket from Erin Smith to end the third quarter with a 9-0 run and a 32-24 lead.
That lead expanded to ten at 34-24 on an Erin Smith deuce to start the final quarter but Jackson Prep’s defensive pressure started paying dividends and the Lady Patriots trimmed the deficit to 36-32 on a Julia Wright basket at the 2:44 mark following a Presbyterian turnover. Laura Lee Smith hit two free throws one minute later to pull Prep to within two points at 36-34. Katye Magee hit two free throws to give Presbyterian a little breathing room at 38-34 at the 1:38 mark. Following a Jackson Prep turnover with one minute remaining Magee converted on two more free throws to increase the lead to 40-34. Prep went to the line and picked up two free throws from Laurel Bane for a 40-36 score with 33 seconds remaining. After Magee converted on one of two free throws Prep got to within three points at 41-38 when Elizabeth Wade hit an eight foot jumper with 13 seconds left. Presbyterian’s Erin Holifield iced the game with a free throw with just four seconds remaining to give the top ranked Lady Bobcats a hard fought 42-38 win.
(Above) Katye Magee (#3) of Presbyterian and Prep's Elizabeth Wade battle for possession
“It was a good win for us,” said Presbyterian head coach Missy Bilderback. “We had an emotional win the other night (ERA) and tonight gives us two big wins back to back,” said Bilderback. “We’ve sealed up the #1 seed for our divisional tournament.”
Katye Magee had a game high 15 points to lead Presbyterian, Erin Holifield added 12 on the night, Shealy Molpus had 11 and Erin Smith 4.
Betsy Baird and Laura Lee Smith each had 10 points to lead Jackson Prep, Elizabeth Wade and Laurel Bane had 6 apiece, Julia Wright 4 and Claire Thompson 2.
With the loss Prep falls to 12-9 and 5-3. Next up for the Lady Patriots is a date with #3 MRA on Saturday in Jackson.
Both teams traded 3-pointers to start the opening quarter. Erin Holifield nailed a three for Presbyterian while Prep’s Betsy Baird did the same. With the game tied at 7-7 and just under three minutes left in the quarter Holifield converted on two free throws on consecutive possessions to put the Lady Bobcats up 11-7. Elizabeth Wade’s jumper from the free throw line closed out the quarter with Prep only down 11-9. Claire Thompson’s 12 foot jumper tied things up at 11-11 to start the second quarter. Presbyterian then put together a 7-2 run to take an 18-13 lead at the 3:02 mark of the quarter. Katye Magee and Erin Holifield hit two free throws each and Magee’s transition bucket plus one gave the Lady Bobcats the five point cushion. Jackson Prep stayed close as two Laura Lee Smith free throws and a Laurel Bane turnaround jumper in the paint helped the Lady Patriots head into the halftime break down just 21-17.
(Above) Presbyterian's Erin Smith (#10) goes up for two of her four points.Prep started the third quarter with five straight points as Betsy Baird hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Laura Lee Smith hit a jumper from the elbow to give the Lady Patriots a 22-21 lead, their first since 3:36 of the first quarter. Both squads traded baskets and with 4:46 left in the third quarter Prep enjoyed a slim 24-23 lead. That would prove to be their last lead of the night as Presbyterian got seven straight points from senior Shealy Molpus and a fast break bucket from Erin Smith to end the third quarter with a 9-0 run and a 32-24 lead.
That lead expanded to ten at 34-24 on an Erin Smith deuce to start the final quarter but Jackson Prep’s defensive pressure started paying dividends and the Lady Patriots trimmed the deficit to 36-32 on a Julia Wright basket at the 2:44 mark following a Presbyterian turnover. Laura Lee Smith hit two free throws one minute later to pull Prep to within two points at 36-34. Katye Magee hit two free throws to give Presbyterian a little breathing room at 38-34 at the 1:38 mark. Following a Jackson Prep turnover with one minute remaining Magee converted on two more free throws to increase the lead to 40-34. Prep went to the line and picked up two free throws from Laurel Bane for a 40-36 score with 33 seconds remaining. After Magee converted on one of two free throws Prep got to within three points at 41-38 when Elizabeth Wade hit an eight foot jumper with 13 seconds left. Presbyterian’s Erin Holifield iced the game with a free throw with just four seconds remaining to give the top ranked Lady Bobcats a hard fought 42-38 win.
(Above) Katye Magee (#3) of Presbyterian and Prep's Elizabeth Wade battle for possession“It was a good win for us,” said Presbyterian head coach Missy Bilderback. “We had an emotional win the other night (ERA) and tonight gives us two big wins back to back,” said Bilderback. “We’ve sealed up the #1 seed for our divisional tournament.”
Katye Magee had a game high 15 points to lead Presbyterian, Erin Holifield added 12 on the night, Shealy Molpus had 11 and Erin Smith 4.
Betsy Baird and Laura Lee Smith each had 10 points to lead Jackson Prep, Elizabeth Wade and Laurel Bane had 6 apiece, Julia Wright 4 and Claire Thompson 2.
With the loss Prep falls to 12-9 and 5-3. Next up for the Lady Patriots is a date with #3 MRA on Saturday in Jackson.
Presbyterian heads to Purvis for two varsity games on Saturday.
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PC...11...10...11...10...42
JP....9.....8.....7...14...38
