Starkville too much for Presbyterian
Southern Sports & Travel
The Starkville Academy Lady Vols knew all too well the perils of tangling with a wounded and dangerous opponent as they made the three hour trek south to Hattiesburg to take on Presbyterian Saturday afternoon. Presbyterian, playing without one of the better players in the MAIS in Trista Magee, battled the top ranked team in Class AAA to a three point game by halftime but second half turnovers and a big fourth quarter from Starkville paved the way for a 56-38 road win for Coach Glenn Schmidt’s Lady Vols.
Presbyterian got off to a steady start as the Lady Bobcats put up a 4-2 lead two minutes into the opening quarter behind two buckets from Monica Breland but Starkville would take their first lead of the afternoon on an April Burney 3-pointer from the key and a 10 foot baseline jumper from sophomore Sallie Kate Richardson at the 5:32 mark for a 7-4 advantage.
(Above) Starkville sophomore Sallie Kate Richardson (#24) led all scorers with 17 points
Presbyterian quickly put up five unanswered points to retake the lead at 9-7 but top ranked Starkville finished the opening quarter strong.
April Burney canned a 3-pointer from the corner to give Starkville the lead at 10-9 and following a Presbyterian turnover Nora Kathryn Carroll drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 2:54 mark to extend the spread to 13-9. Anna Prestridge capped an 8-0 Starkville run with two free throws to end the quarter with the Lady Vols holding a 15-9 edge.
Starkville threatened to pull away from Presbyterian in the early stages of the second quarter. Tiffany Huddleston’s driving lay-in at the 5:51 mark gave Starkville a 19-11 lead but the Lady Vols couldn’t shake Presbyterian.
The Lady Bobcats got a basket in the paint from Molly Speed followed by Hannah McCarter’s shot off the glass from close range to pull PCS to within four points at 19-15 with 4:16 remaining in the half.
(Above) Monica Breland (#24) of Presbyterian attempts to shoot over Starkville's Nora Kathryn Carroll
Presbyterian would cash in on a Starkville turnover and close to within two points at 21-19 on two Monica Breland free throws at the 2:08 mark.
Anna Lea Little sank two free throws of her own to give Starkville a little breathing room at 23-19 with just under two minutes left in the half and the Lady Vols would take a narrow 23-20 lead into the locker-room after Presbyterian’s Landon Garner hit on one of two free throws to close out the scoring in the first half of play.
The first three minutes of the third quarter would prove to be a precursor for Presbyterian as the Lady Bobcats had four turnovers on their first four possessions and Starkville capitalized in a big way.
April Burney drilled a 3-pointer from the wing and then had a halfcourt steal and lay-up to give Starkville a 28-20 lead with just over two minutes gone in the quarter.
Sallie Kate Richardson took advantage of another PCS turnover as the sophomore center hit a turnaround jumper from 8 feet to give the Lady Vols a ten point lead at 30-20.
Starkville capped a 10-0 run on Nora Kathryn Carroll’s 3-pointer from the corner to give the Lady Vols a 33-20 lead and force Presbyterian into a timeout with 4:51 left in the quarter.
Presbyterian came out of the timeout and promptly went on a 12-5 run to close the deficit to 38-32.
(Above) Starkville's Tiffany Huddleston (#21) rips down a rebound in the second half
A Sallie Kate Richardson offensive rebound and put back with 33 seconds on the clock enabled Starkville to take a 40-32 lead into the final quarter.
Any hope in Presbyterian making a fourth quarter charge was quickly dashed as Starkville exploded with a 12-0 run to start the final quarter. Anna Prestridge’s 15 foot jumper would cap the run at the 4:15 mark and give Starkville their biggest lead at 52-32.
Starkville dominated on the defensive end as the Lady Vols held Presbyterian to just one basket through the first six minutes of the final quarter and improved their overall record to 27-3 and 11-0 in district play with a 56-38 win.
Starkville was led by Sallie Kate Richardson who had a game high 17 points, April Burney added 11, Anna Lea Little and Nora Kathryn Carroll had 7 each, Tiffany Huddleston 6, Anna Prestridge 4, and Lauren Atwell and Julianne Jackson with 2 apiece.
Monica Breland led Presbyterian with 15 points, Molly Speed chipped in with 12, Hannah McCarter had 6, Reagan Dykes and Hannah Sellers 2 each and Landon Garner 1.
Starkville will host Heritage on Tuesday while Presbyterian (17-7 & 5-4) will entertain Parklane.
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.Post Game with Starkville head coach Glenn Schmidt
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