Courtesy of The Bastrop Daily Enterprise
Seniors Logan Tubbs and Caroline Oliphant produced double-doubles as Prairie View soared to a 60-40 first round decision over Columbia (Miss.) Wednesday night in the MAIS Class 2A South State Tournament. Oliphant, who started on the wing rather than at the point, scored the first four points of the game to put the Lady Spartans ahead to stay. When Oliphant moved back to the one, the Lady Cougars opted to employ a double team. The strategy worked to a degree. While Oliphant finished with 13 points — nine below her season average — she distributed a season-high 10 assists to go along with eight steals. “Somebody has to be open if Caroline is being double teamed,” Farrell said. “When we put Caroline at the point, that left Kristin Kindrix wide open.” Tubbs, who typically raises her level of play at South State, contributed heavily to Oliphant’s assist total. A two-time All-South State Tournament selection, Tubbs put together a 21-point, 11-rebound performance. “Logan Tubbs was big time tonight,” Farrell said. Columbia (18-13) burned three timeouts early, but could find no answer as the Lady Spartans jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead. “We really got after them early,” said Farrell, who caught three errant Columbia passes on the bench during the first frame. Prairie View held an 18-6 lead at the end of the quarter, widened the gap to 30-13 at halftime and carried a comfortable 46-26 advantage into the final stanza. “We got a little impatient in the second half,” Farrell said. “The benefit of this game is that we’ve played in this gym now. The shooting background is a little different and the floor is a little longer.” Tubbs and Oliphant were complimented in the Lady Spartans’ scoring by Molly Gregory with eight, Victoria Billings and Kindrix with six, Jerri Ann Lord with four and Dani Anderson with two. Billings was 3-for-4 from the floor and Kindrix added five rebounds from the two guard spot. Farrell was also pleased with the play of Eliza Crockett, who drew the start at point guard. “Eliza had a nice game without scoring a point,” Farrell said. “She set the tone for us early.”
Ashton Scarborough tossed in 19 points, including three 3-pointers, and Lauren Williams added 10 for the Lady Cougars.
Prairie View (22-5), the District 6 champion, advances to play District 4 champion Brookhaven in the semifinals on Friday at 2:15 p.m.
Notes: Anderson, who started for Forest before transferring at the semester, played in her first varsity game for the Lady Spartans. ... Freshmen Victoria Simmons, Kristen Oliphant, Sarah Cheek, Amanda Jones and Tierra Porter also suited up for the game. ... Simmons and Kristen Oliphant saw varsity action early in the season when the team was short-handed. ... Anderson and the five freshmen helped Prairie View’s junior varsity team to an undefeated season. ... Brookhaven will host the State Tournament next year. ... Complete coverage of the South and North State tournaments is available by logging on to www.aafansportsandtravel.blogspot.com
