Lady Warriors to be tested this weekend
The Choctaw Central Lady Warriors will be put to the test this weekend as they take on two of the top teams in the state in prep basketball action.
The Lady Warriors entered the week with a 14-2 record. They played one game last week, defeating Region 4-4A foe Kosciusko 66-41 last Tuesday. Their game with West Lauderdale on Friday was postponed due to the weather.
Choctaw Central has a busy week. They host Leake Central on Tuesday and visit Northeast Lauderdale on Thursday in region action. On Saturday, they play at the Choctaw County tournament where the Lady Warriors face No. 1 ranked Meridian High School. On Monday, the Lady Warriors will play in the Dr. Martin Luther King Day basketball shootout at East Central Community College where they will take on Harrison Central at 2:30 p.m.
"We play the best competition we can find because it helps us get ready for the state playoffs," Lady Warriors coach Bill Smith said. ""We are playing the No. 1 team in the state in Meridian, and Harrison Central has only lost a couple of games. We should be well tested this week."
The Choctaw Central boys dropped a 59-50 decision to Kosciusko.
Lady Warriors 66
Kosciusko 41
The Lady Warriors began a new era in their program when they tipped off the Region 4-4A schedule with a resounding win over Kosciusko.
Choctaw Central went up 22-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Warriors outpointed the Lady Whippets 17-14 in the second quarter and led 39-24 at the half.
Choctaw Central put the game away in the third quarter when they outscored Kosciusko 22-11 and carried a 61-35 lead into the final quarter. Both teams scored six points in the final stanza.
Kosciusko 59
Warriors 50
The Choctaw Central Warriors have lost point guard Ocavious Jones for the season.
Jones was averaging around 20 points per game before he went down with a wrist injury in the Warriors' overtime win over Houston earlier this month.
That output was missed last Tuesday in the Warriors' region loss to Kosciusko.
The Warriors trailed 11-4 at the end of the first quarter. Choctaw Central came back to outscore Kosciusko 18-13 in the second quarter but trailed 24-22 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Whippets outscored the Warriors 17-12 and carried a 41-36 lead into the final stanza. There, Kosciusko outscored Choctaw Central 18-16 as they held on to the victory.
Treundes Willis led the Warriors with 11 points while Gerald Isom added eight points. William McKinney, Caden Wilson and Elias Bell all added six points.
The Warriors will play Ripley in the Choctaw County tournament. That game is slated for 1:30 p.m. The Lady Warriors' game vs. Meridian follows.