Kosciusko returned from its holiday break with a 68-59 road win over Leake County last Friday.
The Whippets’ win snapped a five-game Leake County winning streak and moved Kosciusko to 7-1 this season.
“It was a very tough game and a very tough environment to play in,” Kosciusko coach Eleazarus Greenleaf said. “To get a win there says a lot about the team to play in that type of environment against one of the top teams in the state in their class. It was a great win.”
O’Corya Forrest had 29 points and two steals. Terry Skinner had 12 points, five steals and three rebounds. Antonio Harmon tallied 10 points, two steals and four rebounds.
“The guys were very persistent,” Greenleaf said. “They didn’t get out of character or hang their heads when things didn’t go right. They kept playing. We made good shots. We played as a team and rebounded well. We played good defense and transition defense. It was a great overall team victory.”
Kosciusko was set to host West Lauderdale (2-7) onTuesday and travel to French Camp Academy (1-4) on Friday.
“West Lauderdale, they’re always a tough team,” Greenleaf said. “They’re always well-coached and very disciplined on offense and defense. They run a lot of offensive sets and they’re very patient with good defensive schemes. We’re going to be tested… As far as Friday, I don’t know much about French Camp. This is our first time playing them since I’ve been at Kosciusko, but we’re going to their house and they won’t lay down for us. We’ll probably have to play a very solid defensive game there, as well.”
LADY WHIPPETS
Kosciusko (5-4) suffered a pair of losses last week that snapped its five-game win streak. The Lady Whippets were defeated 66-48 last Friday at Leake County (5-2), and South Pontotoc earned a 72-33 win against Kosciusko in Saturday’s Houston Invitational.
In last Friday’s contest, Leake County led Kosciusko 12-11 at the end of the first quarter but outscored the Lady Whippets 20-10 in the second period to lead 32-21. The Lady Cougars led 51-31 after three quarters.
“I thought we came out good with a lot of energy,” Kosciusko coach Cory Guyton said. “Leake County is a good team. I think they kind of exploited our youth in the second half… From there, I think the experience pretty much took a hold of us. We started making youthful mistakes, and it kind of bit us in the second half.”
Kosciusko Player of the Game Katie Mitchell had 15 points and two rebounds. Amiyah Greer contributed 11 points, three rebounds and one assist and Aaliyah Amey had 10 points, four rebounds and one assist.
In Saturday’s Houston Invitational contest against South Pontotoc (9-1), Greer finished with a team-high 10 points while Mitchell tallied nine points.
“We ran into a well-coached South Pontotoc team with some good shooters and exceptionally good coaches,” Guyton said. “They exploited our youth. Teams are starting to see that we’re coming along, so they’re kind of preparing better for us now. But South Pontotoc, hats off to them. They shot the ball extremely well. We shot the ball pretty good with them in the first half, and the second half, it’s like the wheels came off. I was pleased with the effort they gave. But we just have to get more experience under our belts.”
