By Robert Wilson
Callaway girls basketball coach Ashli Sutton has heard the talk about Jackson Public Schools basketball teams not being as good as in the past.
She wanted to show at least her team could play with any team, not only in Metro Jackson but in the entire state.
Sutton made a statement Saturday night as she led Callaway to the first girls state championship in school history with a 51-46 victory over West Jones for the MHSAA Class 6A state title at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Callaway became the first JPS girls team to win a state title since Tangela Banks led Murrah to a state crown in 2016.
Senior guard Jahanna “JoJo” Wilson led Callaway with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. She scored 17 points in the first half and led the Lady Chargers to a 29-17 advantage and made a 3-pointer in the first minute of the third quarter for a 32-17 lead. West Jones closed the gap, but never took the lead.
Callaway – ranked No. 9 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – finished with a 30-3 record and won its last 15 games. The Lady Chargers avenged a 53-31 loss to West Jones in the championship game two years ago.
This championship was for all of JPS.
“This championship is bigger than me, it’s bigger than my team, it’s bigger than Callaway, it’s for the city,” said Sutton in a postgame interview with Jake Wimberly of the NFHS network on MEtv. “We wanted to put on for the city. There is a lot of talk about how the Jackson Public Schools are not what they used to be. We wanted to let everybody know it’s still the same. We have a lot of students that start in Jackson Public Schools and then they go out to the private schools and other places. We just wanted to let them know that anything can happen in this district if you stay true to it.”
“Winning the state championship means the world for not just us, but for everyone involved with JPS because we were the only JPS school to make it to the state championship,” Wilson said. “So, to be able to represent the district was a major honor.”
There is a reason why this championship was so important to Sutton to win for JPS.
Sutton, who played basketball at Jim Hill, comes from a family who had many JPS graduates and outstanding athletes.
Sutton’s father, Arthur Sutton, played football at Forest Hill and Jackson State. Her uncle Frank Sutton played football and basketball at Forest Hill, football at Jackson State and for the New England Patriots and New York Giants in the NFL. Her uncle Joe Coleman was the Mississippi Boys Basketball Player of the Year at Forest Hill and played at Ole Miss. Her uncle Mark was an All-State basketball player at Forest Hill and played at Mississippi Valley. Her aunt Harriet Sutton played basketball at Lanier and Jackson State. Her aunt Doris Sutton played basketball at Forest Hill and Jackson State. Her grandfather, Jesse Sutton, was a longtime coach at Blackburn Middle School.
While Callaway boys basketball team has won numerous state championships, this was the first one for the girls after three state runner-up finishes.
This is Sutton’s fourth season as Callaway’s head coach. She led Callaway to a 27-7 record and a state runner-up finish and was named the Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Coach of the Year two years ago. Sutton won only 12 games in her first season and made a big turnaround in her second season. She has a 79-19 record, an amazing 80.6 winning percentage, over the past three seasons.
Sutton took over the Callaway program after the Lady Chargers had an 1-11 record in the shortened 2020-2021 season due to covid. She had been the head coach at Northwest Jackson Middle School for three seasons, her last two teams went undefeated. Sutton’s first team at Callaway went 12-15 and lost in the first round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs, playing several freshmen who played for her at Northwest Jackson Middle. The 2023 season was the first winning season at Callaway since the Lady Chargers finished 23-10 and lost to Murrah by two points for the Class 6A state championship in 2016.
“First of all, I want to give all honor and praise to God. We want to thank Him,” Sutton said. “We want to make sure we put Him in front of everything we do “I want to publicly thank God for everything he has done for me, my family, and my team. We have been through a lot this year and the past couple of years so to get here is amazing. My dad talked about his God was going to be us in the same places were before but have a different outcome and that’s literally exactly what happened. I’m just grateful.”
Beating West Jones was extremely satisfying.
“Jahanna knows what it feels like to lose (in the championship game),” Sutton said. “She was one of the four seniors who played in that game against West Jones very badly. We were never in control of that game. I knew she was going to come in and be the man. We always say, she is our 6A Miss Basketball. The difference between us this year and two years ago was then we were missing that extra person to help us score, so this year we had a lot more role players. (Senior guard Jernae) Ringgold coming in and scoring her points was important. I didn’t need 25 out of her. A good 10 will work, a good seven, eight or nine, just something to help and support Jahanna. I challenged our bigs. I felt like our bigs didn’t show up in the semifinals, which made it more difficult for us. They don’t have two bad games back-to-back, so I knew they were coming and do what needed to be done. I’m always stressing, ‘Do your job and we will be successful.’”
Wilson – whose father, Maurice Wilson, is an assistant coach at Callaway – led the way. She was named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of Week and averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the semifinals and finals.
“I feel like I was so successful because of the confidence everyone has in me from the coaches to the players to the fans,” said Wilson, who averaged 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.5 steals this season. “Everyone believed in me and that just allows me to go out there and play freely. Also, because I play with a chip on my shoulder, and I’ve been ready for this game for so long I feel like I had a point to prove.”
Callaway and Jackson will be celebrating this title.
“We are definitely going to enjoy this one, the first in history,” Sutton said. “I’m looking for a big parade in the city, serve us barbeque, trail ride, I personally want to go to Disneyworld again. We’ve been blessed. We are going enjoy this one a lot before we get back in the gym.”
