Sports
Lady Spartans keep rolling
After winning three games in four days, Campbell stays fresh and wins Wednesday night in Mississippi.
What holiday break?
The Campbell girls hoops team has been going full bore since school let out last week, playing five games in six days between their own holiday tournament and the Magic City Showdown in Holly Springs, Miss. After going 3-0 in the Campbell Holiday Tournament, the girls came out strong and defeated the Magic City host team, H.W. Byers, 60-49 on Wednesday night.
The Magic City event is an elite showcase featuring 16 top-flight girls teams from all across the country, and both Byers and today's opponent, Marian Catholic from Chicago, Ill., are state-ranked and have multiple state titles in their divisions.
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The first win at the two-game event certainly didn't come easy for the Lady Spartans, who faced a strong home crowd in the opener.
"It was a very tough game, and we're proud of (the win) because we played the host school," said head coach Randy McClure. "It's a small town in Mississippi so sometimes when these games are played the town shuts down, so it's that type of atmosphere."
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Mississippi native Baylee Hawkins led the team in scoring for the first time this year with 17 points. Angel Foster continued her run of double-digit scoring games with 14, and Campbell Holiday Tournament MVP Chakecia Miller had 12. Campbell was in control from the tip, but didn't enjoy the sort of late-game surges it executed in its three tournament victories earlier in the week.
"We jumped on them early, then weren't quite able to put them away like we wanted," McClure said.
The team hopped on a bus early on Wednesday morning after dispatching Southwest Atlanta Christian on Tuesday night to win their tourney championship, but the demanding schedule hasn't seemed to slow anyone down.
"So far so good. You worry about maintaining focus," McClure added. "We want to play with an aggressive element, and you can't do that forever. But so far the kids are responding."
McClure knows Lady Spartans will have to bring it again this afternoon against Marian Catholic.
"(We're expecting) a very physical game," McClure said. "We know we're going to be in for a battle. They have very tough guards and they're a very aggressive team. But that's the kind of team that you want to see. That's why you come to things like this, to see how you stack up against these teams."
