CCHS Lady Wolves move to 19-0 with win over Florence
Entering Friday (Jan. 2), the Cleveland Central High School Lady Wolves had played 18 basketball games and came out victorious in each one.
On Friday, the Lady Wolves opened the Region 2-5A portion of their schedule as the Florence High School Lady Eagles came to the Margaret Wade Gymnasium in Cleveland. The battle between the two teams was one of the most anticipated in the state. While the Lady Wolves were undefeated, the Lady Eagles were 15-1 which gave the Lady Wolves their toughest test to date on paper.
The two teams put on an excellent display of hard nosed, scrappy defense. The crowd at the Margaret Wade Gymnasium cheered on the Lady Wolves during the contest. CCHS fell behind in the fourth quarter 31-29 as the team was held scoreless for almost half of the quarter. The Lady Wolves were able to buckle down and pull it together as they hit clutch buckets on offense and made key stops on defense. When the dust settled, CCHS kept its perfect record intact with a 42-36 win over Florence. CCHS (19-0) is currently ranked No. 2 in the Capital Sports Mississippi High School 5A Girls Basketball Poll, while Florence (15-2) is ranked fourth.
CCHS Head Girls Basketball Coach Whitney Williams, who is in her ninth year with the program, felt her girls pulled together to produce the win.
“I am proud of the overall effort of each of the girls,” said Williams. “Everyone contributed in a big way and made an impact on the outcome of the game. They communicated and worked well together. We always discuss our defense and how it truly defines us. To see each player lock in to the very end and work as a unit is what makes this group special.
“Florence is well coached and very aggressive. They are patient and execute well. We knew going in we’d have to play our best game of basketball to this point. We just have to keep progressing and keep getting better each day.”
One thing that is helping the Lady Wolves right now is their conditioning program.
Williams has been pleased with how much the girls have worked to be able to compete for a full four quarters each time out.
“We are currently dressing nine players with one of those players coming off a fractured ankle,” said Williams. “We knew this summer we would be small in numbers but hopefully big in heart with girt. Coach Joac (Williams) has ensured since the first day of practice that the girls would hit the weight room and set our conditioning routines. I think that is paying off for us now and allowing us to push through fatigue.
“The majority of the girls run track as well. Coach (Lashundreya) Townsend, who is an assistant coach, is the head track coach. It’s been a major asset for us to work together which benefits both programs.”
Out of the nine players on the Lady Wolves’ roster, eight scored points against Florence. Aubrey Gallion hit three 3-pointers and scored nine points to lead CCHS, followed by Makayla Washington with eight points and six rebounds, Makenah Jefferson with six points, four steals and four assists, Zaryah Horton with six points, Taliyah Thomas with five points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal and Stella Rose Cartwright with three points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.
The Lady Wolves were scheduled to travel to Lexington to take on Holmes County Central in a region game on Tuesday (Jan. 6), but results weren’t available at press time. CCHS will host Lanier in region action on Friday (Jan. 9) with the junior varsity games set to start first at 4:00 p.m. CCHS is slated to hit the road on Tuesday (Jan. 13) to play Vicksburg in region action with the junior varsity games set to start first at 4:00 p.m.