By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – For most of this century, Presbyterian Christian has been the gold standard for MAIS girls basketball in the Pine Belt.
But this year, at least, there has been a changing of the guard, as Lamar Christian served notice that it will be a force to be reckoned with the MAIS, rolling over the Lady Bobcats 53-34 Thursday night at Rees Gymnasium.
It was the Lady Lions’ first victory over PCS in school history, and LCS improved its record to 16-1 with its 12th consecutive win. PCS lost its sixth straight, falling to 6-8.
“It’s a big win, the biggest since I’ve been here,” said senior point guard Catherine Hannabass, who had 12 points for the Lady Lions. “To come in here and beat them, it means a lot.”
George Coll, in his sixth season as the girls coach at Lamar Christian, has patiently built his program around a talented group of seniors that have been together for the past three seasons.
“We won (Class AA) state two years ago with this group, and we’ve been to the Overall (State Tournament) the past two years,” said Coll. “We can be as good as we want to be. It’s up to the kids to decide each night how hard they want to play.”
PCS took an early 10-2 lead on the strength of a couple of 3-point shots, but senior forward Rebekah Engle hit two treys to get Lamar Christian going, and the Lady Lions’ defense did the rest.
LCS went to a man-to-man defense, and PCS didn’t adjust.
“When we started playing with a higher level of energy, we started to create some opportunities,” said Coll. “We’re not as deep as I’d like to be, so we started out in a zone.
But once we started putting the ball in the hole and started picking up the ball pressure, we took them out what they like to do.”
The Lady Bobcats had no answer for Engle, an active 6-footer who finished with 23 points for Lamar Christian.
“We ran a bunch of screens for me to get open, and we create some switches to get a smaller person on me,” said Engle. “It’s easier to post up when I’ve got a smaller person on me.”
Hannabass converted a layup to cap a 13-3 run and give the Lady Lions their first lead of the game, 15-13, then LCS clamped down defensively, going back to the zone to freeze PCS on offense.
The Lady Bobcats missed their last eight shots from the field in the second quarter, as Lamar Christian ran off a 15-0 run and finished the first half with a commanding 32-18 lead.
“The first quarter was about what I expected,” said PCS coach Matthew Lofton. “I thought it was going to be two similar teams trying to out-execute each other. But you have to give Lamar Christian a lot of credit; their effort was phenomenal.”
The third quarter was much the same. Although PCS played better on defense, the Lady Bobcats could only muster a single 3-pointer in the period by senior Jillian Rhian, who had 9 points to lead PCS.
“We started in a 3-2 (zone), and they hit a couple of fast 3’s, so we went to the man to put a little pressure on them,” said Hannabass. “We switched back to the zone when they started fouling, because they have a smaller team. But stopping their 3’s was our main focus.”
PCS is in an unfamiliar position of being something of an underdog this season, with a relatively young team facing a demanding schedule. But Lofton said he thinks the team’s current adversity will help in the long run.
“It’s more about getting ready for our conference,” said Lofton. “When you go through a rough stretch like this, it makes you question your character a little bit, it questions your mental fortitude a little bit.
“But one thing I know about these girls and this program is, they aren’t going to quit. They’re going to continue to care about each other and trust us as coaches, and they’re going to continue to play hard.”
As for Lamar Christian, with a veteran squad that has been through plenty of battles together, this could be a season to remember.
“I definitely think we do,” said Engle. “We limit ourselves sometimes, but I think we can compete for the Overall. We have to keep working over the break. We can’t regress, and we have to continue to have high intensity and high energy.”
In the boys game, PCS led all the way and cruised to a 56-49 victory over the Lions.
The Bobcats opened up a 29-16 halftime lead and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before Lamar Christian closed strong in the final minute of play.
Markevion Harrell scored 23 points to lead Presbyterian Christian (7-5), and T.J. Hogan added 14 points. Cole Needham scored 17 points and Donovan Smith had 15 points for Lamar Christian (6-7).
LCS will be back on the floor at Rees Gym next week for the annual PCS Christmas Tournament.
Lamar Christian will play Bowling Green, boys and girls, on Thursday, and Oak Forest, boys and girls, on Friday. PCS girls will play Oak Grove on Thursday and Poplarville Friday, while the Bobcats will take on Forrest County AHS Thursday and Pearl River Central on Friday.
Prep Basketball Summaries
Thursday at Hattiesburg
GIRLS
Lamar Christian 53, Presbyterian Christian 34
LC 15 17 9 12 – 53
PCS 13 5 3 13 – 34
LAMAR CHRISTIAN (16-1): Rachael Pitts 5, Becca Chatham 8, Catherine Hannabass 12, Rebekah Engle 23, Abbey Anderson 1, Kalie Blackmon 4.
PRESBYTERIAN CHRISTIAN (6-8): Gabby Gallup 3, Mary Moore Widemire 6, Jillian Rhian 9, Makayla Smith 4, Allie Vann 7, Emme Parish 5.
BOYS
Presbyterian Christian 56, Lamar Christian 49
LC 6 10 15 18 – 49
PCS 12 17 12 15 – 56
LAMAR CHRISTIAN (6-7): Cole Needham 17, Luke Bilbo 5, Cade Mattison 4, Myles Needham 3, Donovan Smith 15, Eli Whiddon 5.
PRESBYTERIAN CHRISTIAN (7-5): Markevion Harrell 23, Ben Atkinson 2, Skylar Hill 5, T.J. Hogan 14, Jeremiah Montgomery 6, Cannon Garner 4, Chip Lewis 2.
