The Poplarville Lady Hornets took on the Sumrall’s Lady Bobcats on Jan. 21 and won a close game 55-52.

The win gave the Lady Hornets a 3-3 district record and has them in the middle of the pack with several district games remaining.

Poplarville had 37 turnovers during the game and the Lady Bobcats were able to take advantage of those miscues by scoring points.

Head Coach Robin Jeffries said outside of those instances, her team played good defense.

“When we didn’t commit a turnover I thought we played great defense. Offensively we did ok,” Jeffries said.

On the other end of the court sophomore point guard Tytiana Buckley did some heavy lifting, leading the Lady Hornets with 40 points.

The scoring outburst, along with efficiency from the free throw line and behind the arc, helped the Lady Hornets get the win.

The team shot 57 percent from the three-point line while knocking down 65 percent of its free throws.

Jeffries wanted to simplify the game plan heading into the matchup against the Lady Bobcats.

Poplarville only played one defense and ran minimal plays on offense.

“It didn’t create a lot thought process, so I do think that helped,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries said Sumrall applied pressure to the Lady Hornets and in those instances the team’s inexperience showed.

However, the players were able to push through the adversity and pull out the win.

Now the Lady Hornets are preparing for another key district matchup, this time against the Greene County Lady Wildcats on Jan. 24.

Poplarville could tie things up with Greene County, who currently sits in second place in the district, if the team gets a win.

The game will take place at home, which will be welcome news for the Lady Hornets after playing three straight away games.

Jeffries said even with the game being at home, because it’s a new opponent the Lady Hornets will still have to make strategic changes to defeat the Lady Wildcats.

“Every time we play somebody different, no matter where we are, we still have to make some adjustments,” Jeffries said.

The Lady Wildcats’ district standing above the Lady Hornets means there will be a lot riding on this game.

This will be the first matchup between the two teams, so if Poplarville could get a win at home it would put the team in a strong position with three district games remaining after the matchup with Greene County.

“They’re number two in the district right now, so it would behoove us to pull this one out. And it would put us in a better place come time for playoffs,” Jeffries said.

The upcoming game between the two teams is set for 6 p.m.