The defensive play of Jamiya Gray and Haley Olive keyed Kosciusko's 72-49 girls basketball victory over Choctaw County.
Gray had eight steals, along with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Olive contributed nine points and two steals.
Coach Cory Guyton said Gray played the passing lanes well and Olive pressured the ball, contributing to Gray's steals.
D'naylah Williams had 27 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
In a second game last week, Kosciusko was defeated by Neshoba Central, the defending 5A state champion, 73-49. The Lady Whippets trailed 35-20 at the half and had a 17-17 advantage in the third quarter before being outscored 22-9 in the final period.
“It was one of those games. We turned the ball over too much,” Guyton said. “The turnovers really killed us. We had 25 turnovers. You can't win a bunch of games like that.”
Gray had 20 points and nine rebounds, Naja May seven point, seven rebounds and two assists, Williams and Rozlyn Fuller six points each. Williams was double teamed much of the game.
Boys
The Whippets were defeated by Choctaw County 59-41 and Neshoba Central 70-38.
“We have to do a better job with taking care of the basketball and making fee throws,” said coach Eleazaurs Greenleaf. “I have three freshmen that play a lot of minutes and it's just a learning experience for them.”'
Jeremi Wilkes was a double digit scorer in both games with 11 points and three rebounds against Choctaw County, 13 points and three rebounds in the Neshoba game.
Against Choctaw County, Jaybre Pierce had 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, Andrew Mancell six points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Pierce had eight points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds in the Neshoba game, Amarion Riley seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals and Cory Guyton Jr. five points and two assists.
The Whippets and Lady Whippets are off this week before playing in the McAdams holiday tournament next week. The girls play Yazoo City and the boys Velma Jackson Tuesday. The tournament concludes Wednesday evening with the Whippets and Lady Whippets taking on the host teams.
Greenleaf said the Christmas break will be a time of player development for his team, “Watching film as a team and breaking down film with individual players.”
