Lady Hawks go to 15-4
The Holly Springs Lady Hawks continued their winning ways, in their final game of 2025 and their first in 2026.
Coach Morgan Vickery’s team turned back both J.Z. George and H.W. Byers to improve to 15-4 on the season.
Meanwhile the Holly High boys won one of three games last week and moved to 11-9 overall.
The Lady Hawks knocked off J.Z. George 52-37 Monday afternoon, Dec. 29, in the Murray Dixon Holiday Shootout at Water Valley. After falling behind by three at the end of the first quarter, they rallied to lead 28-21 at halftime and never looked back.
Scoring in double digits for Holly Springs were Teyuana Reaves with 20 points, Zianna Schlender with 12 and Aryauna Ingram with 11.
The Holly High girls then visited county rival Byers Friday night, Jan. 2, and dominated the Lady Lions 48-15. They limited Byers to just three first-half points, while scoring 26 themselves.
Ten Lady Hawks scored in the victory. Leading the way was Reaves with 16, nine of those coming in the second quarter.
The Holly Springs boys opened their week with a 63-52 win over J.Z. George in the Murray Dixon Holiday Shootout at Water Valley. They trailed by five at the halfway mark and then outscored the opposition 42-24 in the second half.
Four players scored in double figures – Jaylen Cassidy with 16, Dawan Malone 13, Karon Finley 12 and Christopher Hale 11. Finley had nine rebounds and Cassidy eight. Hale dished out six assists.
The Hawks made the short bus ride north to Byers Friday night and dropped a 56-46 decision. The Lions were up 2822 at halftime. Holly Springs cut the deficit to two but the Lions outscored the Hawks by eight in the final eight minutes and celebrated the 10-point home win.
“Credit goes to Byers on outstanding effort and execution,” said Sylvester Kilgore, head coach of the Holly High boys. “We had way too many turnovers (29).”
Corey Willis was the top gun for Byers. He poured in 19 points. He was five of six from the free-throw line. Ten Lions scored in the game.
Double-digit scorers for Holly High were Hale with 13, Finley with 11 and Malone with 10. Jatavion Pegues grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Hawks started the new year with a 71-60 loss to Shannon in the Saltillo Basketball Shootout Saturday morning. They got off to a slow start, trailing 25-7 after one quarter. They had a strong second period to slice the deficit to six but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Dowdy poured in 16 points, and Hale tallied 13. Dowdy and Karlo Strickland each had 10 rebounds.
Holly Springs teams host Ashland this Friday night, Jan. 9. They play Lafayette in the Commodore Challenge Saturday at 10 a.m. (girls) and 11:30 a.m. (boys). Next Tuesday, Jan. 13, they visit North Panola in Region 2-3A action.