Coming off two straight losses to end 2017, Caronica Jackson and her Hattiesburg Lady Tigers turned the page and opened the 2018 portion of their schedule on the right foot Tuesday night, cruising past Wayne County, 57-19.
Following a 14-point first half, Wayne County could only muster 5 points in the second as Hattiesburg’s defense flexed its muscles.
“That’s one of our focuses. Trying to do a better job defensively,” Jackson said. “Especially our guards, because we know we have Melyia [Grayson] and Chaise [Stinson] to protect the basket on the inside.”
Kenedi Walker was up to that challenge on this night. The junior point guard finished with a game-high 17 points in leading the charge for the Lady Tigers.
“Much better performance from Kenedi. I tell her to be more aggressive offensively and most of her offense comes from defense, because she’s at the top of our pressure defense,” Jackson said. “She’s the one that’s the recipient of most of those layups, so she did a good job finishing those towards the end. And hit a couple of jump shots in the second half.”
Chaise Stinson added 11 points for the Lady Tigers. Stinson scored the first four baskets of the second half to help put the game out of reach for Wayne County. The scoring run started with halftime adjustments, said Jackson.
“That’s what we discussed during halftime. She [Stinson] was working so hard to get open, and we were getting the ball to her. She just needed to settle down and actually finish the shots. She focused, and I like the intensity she finished with.”
Jackson’s Lady Tigers improved to 10-5 with the win. They will open district play next Tuesday night against Picayune. Jackson believes her team will be ready following a tough non-district schedule.
“We had a couple of losses in the [Holiday] tournament, but I think it is going to prepare us,” Jackson said. “They were physical games. You need that sometimes. It will prepare us for district play starting next week.”
