A week’s worth of tough playoff battles finally caught up with the Pillow Academy girls basketball team in Wednesday’s first-round matchup with Class 5A tournament foe Copiah Academy.
Four days removed from a North State title win over defending Overall champion Leake Academy, the top-seeded Lady Mustangs ran out of gas in the fourth quarter against the No. 4 Lady Colonels. After sophomore forward Avery Howard cut Pillow’s deficit to 51-50 with a minute left, the Lady Mustangs went scoreless the rest of the way as Copiah played lockdown defense to seal a 53-50 upset.
The loss snapped Pillow’s 14-game winning streak and dashed the squad’s Overall title dreams in heartbreaking fashion at Brookhaven Academy.
Avery Howard finished with 11 points along with three rebounds and three assists to lead Pillow (29-5). Senior guard Sarah Presley Howard had 11 points, three boards and two assists in her final game for the Lady Mustangs.
Fellow senior Madeline Mattox racked up 10 points, six rebounds and three steals. Sophomore guard Elise Howard did a little bit of everything with six points, nine rebounds and four assists while senior guard Georgia Caroline Self added six points, five assists and three boards.
Lady Colonels sophomore Charley Grace Davis scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to help Copiah overcome a 24-20 halftime deficit.
Although it ended with an early exit from the Class 5A tournament, this season may have been one of the more impressive in head coach Durwin Carpenter’s 28 years at Pillow.
After graduating six seniors — including all five starters — the Lady Mustangs didn’t miss a beat, snapping rival Leake Academy’s 39-game winning streak in the regular season before taking down the Lady Rebels again in Saturday’s North State championship. Carpenter finished the year with 1,128 career victories, second in the country among active coaches.
Pillow will return two starters next season, twin sisters Avery and Elise Howard, along with a young core that showed promise this winter. Lola Harris, Larkin Camp and Alanna Hodo had two points apiece, with each contributing meaningful minutes throughout the Lady Mustangs’ postseason run.
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
