If you ask Meridian coach Deneshia Faulkner, her team’s newfound dominance isn’t that surprising. 

When Faulkner accepted the head coaching job in the offseason — which pulled her away from her alma mater Heidelberg — she looked for ways to form team cohesion. 

“I came in, and the girls accepted me,” Faulkner said. “They bought in fairly quickly, and we’ve had a lot of fun together. We’ve done a lot as a team to kind of bring us together and closer, and we’ve done a lot of community service events. We’ve had a lot of team date nights, and I think that’s making them closer, and making them jell.”

The figurative chips are falling in place, and Meridian added another victim in Quitman Tuesday night as the Lady Wildcats earned a 62-26 victory over the Lady Panthers.

Ti’Ion Boler led the Lady Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, Arianna Patton added 14 points and 10 different Meridian players scored in the win.

Playing offense wasn’t the only thing the Lady Wildcats did well Tuesday, as they held Quitman to just four points in the first quarter to take a 16-4 lead into the second period.

Defense, Faulkner said, is emerging as this Meridian team’s trademark.

“The fact that we’re young, and they’re eager to learn and they’re energetic, so I think this a perfect team to be able to run those various defenses,” Faulkner said. “None of them are perfect right now, but we’re working on it. I think, at some point, our signature is going to be defense.” 

The Lady Wildcats host Neshoba Central at 6 p.m. Friday in a rematch of a game that saw Neshoba Central grab a 61-50 win in November. Meridian, however, enters Friday’s contest winners of their last seven games in eight attempts.

“It’s just hard work — that’s all I can say,” Faulkner said of her team’s recent surge. “It hasn’t been perfect for us; we’ve been missing a lot of layups, and we definitely have a lot of work to do. But the girls have been working really, really hard, and I think that’s what’s starting to pay off.”

Lonnie McCoy and Tyesha Bland tallied a team-high 10 points for the Lady Panthers as Quitman is still searching for its first win of the season. The Lady Panthers will attempt to score their first win of the season Saturday at Alabama’s Sumpter Central. 

“We have to work, we have to get better — that’s it,” Quitman coach Lakia Westerfield said. “They’re still fighting, they’re still working, but you have to show up.”

MERIDIAN BOYS 74, QUITMAN 36

Jamond Gordon poured in 16 points to help lead Meridian past Quitman Tuesday night in boys basketball action. KeEdrick Armstead ended the contest with 10 points. 

Meridian’s stifling defense held Quitman to just two points in the first period to take a 14-2 lead at quarter’s end, and the Wildcats extended their lead to 36-14 at halftime. 

Gordon scored 10 points in the third quarter as Meridian led 58-26 at the end of the third period.

Up next: Meridian hosts Neshoba Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while Quitman travels to Alabama to play Sumpter Central Saturday.