Taylorsville’s playoff run ended in the MHSAA Class 2A quarterfinals against a familiar foe.
Puckett defeated Taylorsville 58-50 at Pearl River Community College Friday night in the girls' quarterfinal round. Both teams shared Region 5-2A together. Puckett won both regular-season games also.
"I've been exceptionally proud of my girls all year," said Taylorsville head coach Angela Moore. "They've overcome every obstacle they've faced all year. They even overcame the first quarter tonight."
After Taylorsville opened the contest with a 3-0 lead, Puckett’s 19-3 run to end the first period put the Lady Tartars behind substantially.
At the half, Taylorsville trailed 35-20.
“We had to settle down and come back [in the second half] and play Lady Tartar basketball,” said Moore. “It’s like we were able to catch our second wind [in the third period]. We were able to make some shots on the outside that we were unable to make early.”
Taylorsville’s 9-0 run to begin the second half helped the Lady Tartars pull within three, 39-36, late in the third period.
Moore credited the play of senior captain Kolten Blakeney for the team's third-period run.
"For us to be able to get the ball to Kolten [was big]," Moore added. "She's stepped up for the team all year long. She played with a lot of guts and grit. I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss them all, but she was that nucleus that every coach wants and desires. It's not many times in a coach's career that you get what Kolten is. She is as solid of an individual, even off the court, that you can get."
Blakeney finished with a team-high 21 points.
But as good as the third period was for Taylorsville, Puckett, led by Southern Miss signee Rose Warren’s 33-point night, was too much.
"We knew we had to stop Puckett's outside game," said Moore, "because that's what their game is. It didn't work, especially at the very beginning, as we wanted it too.
“When we got Warren into foul trouble, that was a plus for us. But we didn’t have enough at the end.”
Taylorsville finishes the season, 22-9, overall.
"I'm so proud of my girls, though," added Moore. "No one game us a shot of beating Newton [in the second round], except the girls and me. We won the first round by one point, the second round by two points, and I would have liked to win the third round by three points. We gave a run for it, so I'm proud of our girls. You won't find a coach that loves their girls as much as I love ours."
