Bank of Holly Springs
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Photos by Willie Ann Shelton
Camee Faulkner (right) of Holly Springs drives. At far left is teammate Jessica Bohana.

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Juwoyn Lyles (50) and a Water Valley player go for a loose basketball in the game last week.

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Anthony Johnson (right) of the Hawks seeks possession of the basketball. At left, helping trap a Blue Devil, is Daquan Smith.

Hawks finish 10-0 in district

They were easy victories for Holly Springs basketball teams as they welcomed Water Valley Tuesday night of last week.

Back on January 17, Holly Springs left Yalobusha County with a pair of district wins. So, it was the same song, just a different verse.

Camee Faulkner scored 29 points (19 of those points in the first half) and Prishonna Burgess added 10 as the Lady Hawks routed the Lady Devils 55-26 in this District 2-3A game.

The Lady Hawks ignited a 13-0 to start the game. A Lady Devil banked a three with 1:23 remaining. The Lady Hawks responded. Burgess sank a two, and at the buzzer Faulkner drilled a three to put Holly High up 18-3 as the first expired.

The Lady Devils’ scoring didn’t improve much in the second. The Lady Hawks gained 14 more points compared to their six. At the half-way point, the Holly High girls were leading 32-9.

The momentum for Water Valley had picked up after a Lady Devil drained two threes in the third. The Lady Devils outscored the Lady Hawks by one (9-8), but found themselves trailing 40-18 at the end of third.

Not to be outdone by the Lady Devils, the Lady Hawks went into an attack mode on defense for ball control. They added 15 more points to Water Valley’s eight to secure this district contest.

It was definitely no contest in the second game of the evening. The Holly High Hawks took to the floor against the Water Valley boys. The Hawks flew past the Blue Devils 80-44.

The Hawks quickly went into action to grab  a 15-8 lead at the 2:53 mark. The Blue Devils answered as Jayvon Morgan and Quaterius Tolbert each made a two. But Anthony Johnson and Daveon Miller came back with buckets of their own to help Holly High close the first stanza, leading 21-14.

The flying Hawks kept clawing away in the second. They built a 24-15 lead in this frame. Kendrick Fountain tossed in 13 points for the Hawks. Morgan fired in seven for Water Valley. At intermission, the Hawks were up 45-29.

The Blue Devils’ scoring soon took a plunge in the third. With 2:34 left ticking, the visitors were down by 20 points, 59-39. DaQuan Smith made two more baskets to widen the lead further, 63-39 with 1:43 remaining. Juwoyn Lyles sank a two and Johnson hit a long-range shot to give the Hawks a comfortable lead, 68-39 as the third expired. The Blue Devils only produced 10 points in the third frame.

In the paint, Lyles scored six points and Cameron Kimmons added four in the fourth. Holly High celebrated a 36-point victory.

Three Hawks scored in double digits – Lyles with 22, Fountain 19 and Smith 12.

Holly High-Charleston

The Hawks ended the regular season 10-0 in the district, with the number one tournament seed in hand, after an 83-47 rout of Charleston Friday night.

“We had four 20-plus quarters, thanks to a consistent team effort, sparked by active and engaged defensive play,” coach Sylvester Kilgore said.

Holly High scored 20 points in the first, 21 in the second, 22 in the third and 20 in the fourth.

Leading the way was Smith, who blistered the nets with 33 points.

“He and Kendrick Fountain also wowed the gym with consecutive monster, contested dunks and then sealed the deal on both plays by making foul shots for the old-fashion three-point play,” he said. “Also, ninth grader Cori Bell got it started with a breakaway tomahawk dunk.”

Cornelious Bridgeforth finished with 11 points and Fountain scored 10. Twelve Hawks scored in the game.

Kilgore thanked the Holly High fans who made the trip to Tallahatchie County to witness “the entertaining, action-packed game.”

The Holly Springs girls lost 60-39 at Charleston and finished 5-5 in the district.

They fell behind 34-18 at the half.

Faulkner was the Lady Hawks’ leading scorer with 17 points. Prishonna Burgess added 11.

The Hawks (17-9 overall) and Lady Hawks (10-13) will compete in the District 2-3A Tournament this week at North Panola.

Holly Springs South Reporter

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Holly Springs, MS 38635
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