By By Jim Luke/Special to the Star
Dec. 4, 2001
NANIH WAIYA Philadelphia picked up a pair of wins here Monday night in high school basketball action as the Tornadoes won the girls game 57-41 and the boys contest 86-46 over the home-standing Warriors.
The Lady Warriors kept things close in the first half, trailing the Lady Tornadoes by only two points at 25-23. The fourth quarter belonged to Philadelphia with a 19-11 scoring advantage, including seven of eight from the free throw line to close the game.
Philadelphia opened the game with a three-point goal by Erica Clemons and the Lady Tornadoes never trailed in the contest. Nanih Waiya stayed close until a six-point scoring run by Philadelphia at the end of the opening quarter gave the Lady Tornadoes a 15-6 advantage. The Lady Warriors fought their way back into the game through the second quarter to pull within two at the half.
In the second half, Philadelphias offense began to click and they were able to slowly pull away from Nanih Waiya. An eight-point burst midway through the fourth quarter gave Philadelphia a cushion that was padded by hitting critical free throws in the final minutes to extend the lead and hold off the Nanih Waiya threat.
The Lady Tornadoes had three players in double figures with Clemons leading the way with 16 points and Shekara Young and Tina Willis adding 15 each. Ashley Pugh led the Lady Warriors with 10 points while Alana Hickman and Courtnee Graham had nine apiece.
Gentry was especially pleased with the play of Willis and Clemons in the game.
Even though his team did not win the game, Nanih Waiya coach Ken McMullan was not unhappy with his team.
Nanih Waiya has not been shy about scheduling tough competition early in the season. The 1A school has played three games against 3A schools, including two with Philadelphia, and one game with 4A Neshoba Central.
The boys game started out much like the girls with neither team able to out-power the other. Philadelphia built a 14-7 advantage only to see the Warriors battle back with a 7-0 run to tie the game 14-14 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Tornadoes used good team speed to begin to slowly pull away from the Warriors to hold a 38-25 advantage at halftime.
Philadelphia started the third quarter with a 6-0 run and end the quarter with a 10-0 run to pull away to a 58-37 advantage and continued the scoring onslaught for the final 86-46 score.
Diego Gill scored 21 points to lead the all scorers while Mandrako Jackson added 17 and Tellas Burnside 12 for the Tornadoes. The Warriors were led by David Frey with 15 and Brent Blackwell with 12.
While he was disappointed with the loss, first-year Nanih Waiya coach Fred Hickman was far from discouraged.