On a night that both Booneville Blue Devil teams wanted a little retribution, they got exactly what was asked for, and then some.
When Booneville visited Olive Branch for the first meeting of the two schools, the Lady Blue Devils took home a narrow win while the boys squad, who had yet to get their football players back into the fold, suffered a close loss. On Thursday night, it was the Blue Devils’ turn to strike back, and they did so with force.
The Lady Blue Devils defeated the Lady Conquistadors 65-46 on the back of 22 points from Soniyah Cook, who missed the last game against Olive Branch. Ava Kate Smith also poured in another 21 points to combine for a total of 43 between the Booneville tandem.
“I thought we were much better [tonight],” said Booneville head coach Michael Smith. “We hit shots in the first half and really got away from them. I just thought we played really, really well. As well as I think we’ve played probably this whole year.”
Seventh grader Caleigh Nix impressed for Olive Branch en route to her 11 point performance and flashed an advanced skillset for her age group.
The Lady Blue Devils improved to 19-4 on the year and will next face off against Pontotoc on Tuesday night. Olive Branch fell to 16-7 on the year, and as the visiting 6A team, neither unit’s divisional record was impacted.
If the Lady Blue Devils started the fire, the boy’s squad only turned up the heat. Jackson State commit Kedrick Simmons led the way for Booneville with 21 points in a 60-34 trampling of the Conquistadors that saw Booneville put together their own highlight tape. Both Simmons and his teammate Camryn Hampton tried their best to bring the rims down with numerous throwdowns, but in the end, the glass held together just enough for the Blue Devils to clean them like Windex.
Hampton, who finished with 12 points, held down the paint for Booneville on the night – a task that his head coach said was instrumental in the victory.
“Cam has such a high ceiling,” said Smith of his young forward. “I don’t really think he understands how good he is or how good he could be…He is such a great leaper, and he challenges people at the rim, and he controls the defensive glass. He doesn’t always block a shot, but you look up and he’s altered a shot or made somebody adjust it. And he may have gotten 12 points, but when you go back and look at the film, you’ll say ‘well, he saves us 15 points or more,’ so he’s really a plus-27 guy.”
Hampton spoke further on his approach after the game.
“[I was] just being aggressive, trusting my teammates and letting them feed me the ball so I can go up and slam one,” said Hampton. “We all just trust each other, and we’re just all aggressive. We’re definitely playing better defense, so I feel like that’s what’s making us play better.”
The night served as a special occasion for more than just the opportunity for Booneville to punch above its weight class. It also stood as Wick Anderson night – a night of basketball meant to honor and remember the life and contributions of Wick Anderson and Wick Anderson high school.
Once a year, both Booneville squads suit up in the school’s traditional purple and gold uniforms to honor the history, legacy and tradition of those who came before them.
Wick Anderson high school stood as the county’s all-Black school before desegregation, and upon its desegregation in 1970, became the local elementary school, which it still is today.
“[Wick Anderson High School] means a lot to our community and our town,” said Smith. “The school is Anderson elementary school now, but it used to be a high school, and it is a huge focal point in our community, and it means so much to so many of these men and women that came before us, and I think that this program means a lot to those people.”
As the season rolls forward, the Blue Devils appear to be playing their best basketball at the right time, and that’s half the battle.
