By By Rocky Higginbotham/The Meridian Star
Dec. 18, 2000
Meridian High School's girls passed their biggest test of the season this past Friday night, when the Lady Wildcats overcame an eight-point deficit to knock off Choctaw Central.
Things are about to get even tougher for the Lady Wildcats, however.
Meridian, which enters the week 15-0, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 23 in the nation, should get all they want from both opponents in this week's Columbus Christmas Classic.
The MHS boys are also in the event at Columbus, which highlights a rather light week for high school teams in The Meridian Star's coverage area.
"There are some great teams, girls and boys, and a lot of teams from out of state," Meridian girls' coach Donald Shirley said. "We could very easily go up there and lose two games."
Meridian's boys are the only local team to see action during the first day of the event, taking on Lafayette County Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Friday, Meridian's girls get their showdown with the state's best player in Tan White and Tupelo. The Lady Wave are also unbeaten, and second-ranked Tupelo ended the Lady Wildcats' season a year ago by knocking off MHS in the Class 5A semifinals.
The rematch is Friday at 3 p.m., with Meridian's boys taking on Millington, Tenn., later Friday at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Meridian's girls get another stiff test at 3 p.m. against Huffman, Ala., a Class 6A team from Birmingham which is supposedly one of the top two teams from the state of Alabama.
Here's a rundown of this week's other high school basketball action:
Monday: The only game in the area Monday is at Macon, where Central Academy plays host to Winston Academy in a pair of non-division games between the old division rivals.
Tuesday: There are plenty of good ones on this day, which offers the most action of the week.
A great girls' matchup will take place at Newton, which plays host to Choctaw Central; while the best boys' matchup in the area should be in DeKalb where Kemper Academy plays host to fifth-ranked University Christian School.
Other good Tuesday matchups include Kemper County at Southeast Lauderdale, Manchester Academy at Lamar School, Neshoba Central at South Leake and Bay Springs at South Jones.
Thursday: Just one other area schools sees action other than Meridian Thursday, as Noxapater's squads travel to McAdams for a division battle.
Friday: In addition to the MHS squads at the Columbus tourney, Wayne County entertains Moss Point Friday and Bay Springs hosts West Jones.
In Alabama, Class 4A area rivals Choctaw County and Sumter County will battle, as well.
Saturday: On the final day of pre-Christmas action, Meridian's girls will be the only area team in action.