By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The reputation of the Munford Lady Cougars during the Steve Poindexter Era is they will be well-coached and have a game plan when they are underdogs.
Friday night entering the William Osteen Gymnasium to take on the rival Millington Lady Trojans, Millington Head Coach Jason Nichols was preparing his girls to take Munford’s best shot. The Lady Cougars delivered the blow, erasing a 12-point deficit and making the halftime score 21-19 in favor of Millington.
“We go up 12 and then we do a bone-head play — fouling somebody shooting the three,” Nichols recalled. “We missed a few bunnies and they cut them down. Coach Poindexter is a master schemer and at what he does. He schemes for you and you have to be prepared.”
The Lady Trojans made adjustments in the second half and used the interior play of Savannah Spearman, Makenzie Chambers and Ayanna Ransom to spark the defense leading to a 52-30 win over Munford.
“I think in the second half my kids were more prepared and more patient on the defensive end,” Nichols noted. “They locked in when they needed to. I have to commend them for only giving up 11 points there in the second half.”
The Lady Trojans outscored Munford 10-4 in the third quarter behind the offensive boost of senior guard Micaiah Halliburton. Coming into the game, Halliburton needed 20 points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
Halliburton dropped 18 points against the Lady Cougars. Sharing the basketball along with fellow backcourt mates Keria McGhee and Kayla Dotson, players like Ransom contributed offensively.
In the fourth quarter the Millington advantage reached double figures when Dotson made a steal leading to a layup to make the tally 33-23.
After Munford’s Brezia Cooper hit a baseline three-pointer to make the score 33-26, the Lady Trojans proceeded with a 13-0 run to make the lead 46-26. Halliburton drilled a couple of jumpers during that stretch.
And post players Spearman and Chambers made buckets in the paint.
“Savannah Spearman, Makenzie Chambers and Ayanna Ransom made layups and got extra shot attempts,” Nichols said. “Hats off to them and their performance. And they got key rebounds. They willed my three guards, we’re down one, to victory.”
With the M&M Basketball Showdown victory in the rearview mirror, the Lady Trojans are preparing to hit the road to Florida for a team-bonding trip and chance to take on good competition to close out 2021. But Nichols took a moment to enjoy the significance of beating the Lady Cougars.
“This win was for the Millington community and for me,” Nichols acknowledged. “I was part of my first M&M basketball game. And this was for our fallen senior Jontavia Bonner. They won this for her.”
