Southern
Sports & Travel
Columbia
head coach Reid McCay grinned last night following his Lady Cougar’s 36-33 come
from behind upset win over sixth ranked Simpson in Mendenhall. His squad didn’t
score a basket until the 6:30 mark of the second quarter in a game that both he
and Simpson head coach David Granville acknowledged wasn’t the best played
between the two squads. McCay
did what most good coaches do when their team is struggling to score points, he
kept working until his squad figured out what was successful and that came from
the inside play of sophomore center Dianna Hobgood who led Columbia with a game
high 18 points.
(Above) Columbia's Anna Wilks (#5) shoots in the lane for 2 of her 6 second half points
Hobgood
had scored the game tying bucket with 1:43 remaining in regulation but the winning
basket came from an unlikely source, freshman Alex Anthony, who came off the
bench to record her only two points of the night, a 10 foot jumper from the
baseline with 23 seconds left.
“During
the last timeout Coach McCay told us to draw the defender, drive and try and
draw a foul,” said Anthony. “When I got the ball on the baseline I waited for
the defender and then drove and went up for the jumper.”
Anthony’s
jumper (Photo right) rattled home and the freshman was relieved. “I thought my heart was going
to beat out of my chest,” she said.
It
was rough going for both squads early on in the contest.
Simpson
scored on a Brittany Gardner offensive rebound and put back less than one into
the game but would not score again until 51 seconds remaining in the quarter when
Gardner converted in the paint to give Simpson a 4-0 lead.
Maegan
Griffith gave Simpson a 6-0 lead on a fast break transition basket at the horn
to close out a first quarter that was laden with turnovers.
Columbia
scored the first two buckets of the second quarter as Dianna Hobgood worked the
paint for a lay-in and at the 5:13 mark pulled down an offensive rebound and
converted to pull Columbia to 6-4.
Simpson
looked ready to pull away after a Lauren Griffin free throw and a Brittany
Gardner basket off the glass stretched the lead to 9-4 with 2:27 left in the
half but Columbia kept finding ways to stay close.
Jacklyn
Wilkes connected on three of four free throws over the next 33 seconds to pull
the Lady Cougars to within two points at 9-7 and the two point margin would
hold as both squads exchanged baskets the remaining 1:29 of the half to close
out the quarter with Simpson holding on to a precarious 13-11 lead.
Columbia
knotted the contest at 13-13 to start the third quarter as Anna Wilks converted
on a fast break bucket thirty seconds in and the Lady Cougars would take their
first lead of the game at 16-15 at the 5:07 mark when Dianna Hobgood hit on one
of two free throws.
That
lead would be short-lived as Simpson responded with a 7-1 run to close out the
third quarter holding a 22-17 advantage and some much needed momentum heading
into the final eight minutes of play.
A
Lauren Griffin 12 foot jumper from the baseline gave Simpson their biggest lead
of the night at 24-17 less than forty seconds into the final quarter and while
Columbia managed to pull to within three points at 29-26 on a Dianna Hobgood
basket (Photo left) Simpson appeared to be in control as fouls started mounting with 4:49
left in the contest.
Brittany
Garner’s soft shot off the glass from close range gave Simpson a 31-26
advantage but with just over three minutes left the tide started changing.
With
Simpson in control of the basketball and in the spread the momentum changed
quickly.
Anna
Wilks converted a Simpson turnover into a fast break lay-in to cut the deficit
to 31-28 and while Simpson countered with a Brittany Gardner bucket with 2:49
remaining in regulation to once again stretch the lead to five points at 33-28
Columbia completely controlled the remaining two minutes of the contest.
After
Jacklyn Wilkes hit on one of two free throws Columbia pulled to within two
points at 33-31 on an Anna Wilks driving lay-in.
Wilks
would then serve up the game-tying assist to Dianna Hobgood to knot the game at
33-33 with 1:43 remaining in regulation.
Following
a Simpson turnover and Columbia time-out Alex Anthony would drain a 10 foot
jumper from the baseline with 23 seconds left to give Columbia only their
second lead of the night at 35-33.
Lauren
Griffin’s 3-point attempt looked on line with 4 seconds remaining but rimmed
out and Dianna Hobgood of Columbia secured the rebound and drew an immediate foul
with .5 seconds left.
The
sophomore hit one of two free throws to secure a 36-33 road win and a season
split with Simpson.
“This
win felt good,” said Dianna Hobgood. “It feels good beating them on their court
after they beat us at our place earlier in the year and we had lots of fun in
the locker-room after the game.”
Hobgood
led all scorers with 18 points, Anna Wilks added 6, Jacklyn Wilkes and Julie
Bullock had 5 each and Alex Anthony 2.
Brittany
Gardner led Simpson (18-8) with 14 points, Lauren Griffin had 11, Melanie
Griffith 6 and Gracie Knight 2.
Columbia
improves to 14-6 and will host second ranked Bowling Green on Friday while
Simpson entertains Copiah on Thursday.
.
Post Game with Columbia Head Coach Reid McCay
