Moore contributes to Lady Cougar comeback with good fourth quarter
It has been a very good career on the basketball court for Starkville Christian’s Olivia Moore.
On Thursday, Moore gave the Lady Cougars just a little bit more on senior night.
Moore led Starkville Christian with 16 points in a 44-37 victory over Kemper Academy.
The Lady Cougars had to rally from a 25-24 deficit at the end of the third quarter in a game where they had a difficult time scoring.
“It took us a while to get going, but we got in there,” Moore said. “We knew what we needed to do and we did it.”
Moore had a big fourth quarter with 10 of her points, including two big 3-point field goals, to help the comeback. Her first 3-pointer came to open the fourth quarter to give Starkville Christian a 2725 lead, then after the Lady Rams tied the game at 27-27, she scored again to put the Lady Cougars up 29-27 with 7 minutes remaining in the game.
Kemper Academy was able to get the outing even one more time at 29-29, but Tanner Smith scored to give Starkville Christian the lead for good at the 6:04 mark of the fourth quarter and Moore followed that with another basket as the Lady Cougars stretched it to a 33-29 advantage.
After the Lady Rams cut the margin to 33-31, Moore hit another 3-pointer to push the Starkville Christian lead to 36-31.
A 3-point play got Kemper Academy to within 36-34 with 4:22 left in the game, but that was as close the visitors came the rest of the way.
With a basket and a couple of free throws from Lana Ballard, two free throws by Maddie Goodson and a free throw by Smith, the Lady Cougars were able to hold off the Lady Rams.
Moore admitted that there was a little something extra special happening on the court knowing it was her last home game. She was recognized prior to the game along with fellow girls senior Mary Driskell and boys seniors Dillon Ballard and Ashton Huxford.
“All this week I’ve been a little sad, happy and had mixed emotions, but tonight when I came in, it clicked,” Moore said. “I’ve really had a good time playing with these girls the past six years. I’m really going to miss it.”
Following Moore in the scoring column for Starkville Christian (12-4) was Smith with 12 points and Ballard with eight points.
Kemper Academy 65, Starkville Christian 44
The Cougars kept the Rams in check throughout the first half, but the Rams went on a run during the third quarter to provide the separation.
After Kemper Academy scored the first basket of the game, Ashton Huxford and Eigan Ballard hit back-toback buckets to give Starkville Christian a 4-2 lead.
The Rams went on a 7-0 run to establish a 9-4 advantage with 2:21 remaining in the first quarter, but scores by Holden Gines and Patton Huxford got the Cougars back to within one point at 9-8 with 45 seconds left.
Kemper Academy scored the final basket of the first quarter to stretch the margin to 11-8 and outscored Starkville Christian 13-5 in the second quarter to go up 24-13 at halftime.
The Rams got hot to open the third quarter and went on a 13-1 run to take control of the game at 37-14.
Gines had four 3-point field goals in the game and was the leading scorer for the Cougars (3-13) with 14 points. Ashton Huxford had a good senior night with 11 points and Eigan Ballard chipped in 10 points.
The Starkville Christian teams will make the short trip down Lynn Lane on Saturday when they take on Starkville Academy.