By Robert Wilson
FLOWOOD – Jackson Prep’s Michael McAnally is considered one of the most organized and well prepared girls basketball coaches in Mississippi.
And he’s very good at making in game adjustments and putting his team in a position to win.
McAnally was on his game again Monday afternoon in the Mississippi Scoreboard/Community Bank Classic.
He led Prep to a comeback after trailing in the first quarter, taking the lead as the game neared halftime, then took a double digit lead and defeated Callaway 47-32 before an estimated 150 at Prep’s gym.
Prep – ranked No. 51 in the Mississippi and No. 6 in MAIS Class 4A – improved to 11-8 overall and 4-2 against MHSAA teams this season.
Callaway – ranked No. 26 in Mississippi and No. 5 in MHSAA Class 6A – dropped to 11-3 overall. It was the first time Callaway had played an MAIS school since defeating Jackson Academy 61-47 last season.
Callaway – which started a lineup with three players 6 feet or taller and no player shorter than 5-8 – used its size, strength and quickness to take a 11-7 lead after the first quarter and increased it to 14-7 a few minutes later. But Prep rallied and outscored Callaway 16-5 – the last five points on a layup by junior guard Maggie Bailey and a 3-pointer by 6-3 senior guard-forward and Southern Miss signee Meg Barbour – to take a 23-19 halftime lead.
Prep went on a 9-0 lead to take a 41-24 lead on senior guard Caroline Cross’ 3-pointer from the corner with 40 seconds to play in the third quarter. Two Barbour free throws gave Prep its biggest lead at 43-24 early in the fourth quarter.
McAnally won 674th game (461 girls and 213 boys) to go along with two Overall titles, two Overall runner-up finishes and six state titles in 25 seasons, the last 12 at Prep. He is one of two coaches in MAIS history to win Overall Tournament girls championships with two different teams (East Rankin Academy in 2010 and Prep in 2022).
“I thought it was a gutsy performance on our part,” McAnally said. “Callaway presented some tough matchups tonight and our team really responded to the challenge. Their effort and energy was tremendous to start the game and it took us a little bit of time to settle in. But once we did, we really played a complete game. We wanted to play fast tonight. Where Callaway had an advantage in size, we felt like we had a speed advantage. We wanted to make a concerted effort to push the ball in transition and we created some easy scores for ourselves by doing so.”
Barbour – a member of the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team – scored a game-high 21 points – she made four 3-pointers in the first half and 7 of 8 shots from the free throw line in the second half – and was named the Legacy Theater Flowood Player of the Game. She is the only returning starter from last year’s team, which finished 26-7 and lost to Parklane Academy in the Overall semifinals.
“It was really just another consistent performance for Meg,” McAnally said. “She makes scoring 20 look easy. Her ability to knock down the 3 and get to the rim, as well as post with opportunity, makes her a difficult matchup.”
“Callaway definitely got off to a hot start, and their press was giving us some trouble early,” said Barbour, whose father, Charles, was a pitcher at Ole Miss. “Our coaches made some in game adjustments that helped us come back and take the lead just before half. Our ball movement and pace of pushing the ball in transition helped our team get better shots, and that was a big part of us extending the lead in the second half.”
In addition to Barbour, Bailey had nine points and sophomore guard Leigh Hand had seven points, all in the second half,
Callaway was led by 5-9 senior guard Trinity Cook with 15 points, and 5-10 junior guard Erin Washington with 11 points.
The Lady Chargers are led by first-year coach Dionne Wells, who replaced Ashli Sutton, who took an assistant coaching position at West Alabama. Wells, who played at Callaway, coached Powell Middle School to the Jackson Public Schools championship last season.
“I thought we came out with great energy and focus early on,” Wells said. “We executed our game plan well, shared the ball, and really set the tone defensively, which helped us get off to a strong start. In the second half, Prep did a good job making adjustments, and we didn’t respond the way we needed to. We had a few breakdowns defensively, and didn’t take care of the ball as well, which led to some easy opportunities for them. Credit to Prep for competing, and for us it’s a good learning experience as we keep working to get better.”
