DECATUR — The Quitman girls were coming off a 57-53 loss to Newton County Friday, their first loss in Region 5-4A.

Lady Panthers head coach Jennie Vance entered the game worried her girls might get down on themselves after the loss, but after jumping out to a 12-5 lead in the first quarter against Laurel Saturday, those worries were quickly assuaged. 

Dacia Bostic led with 22 points, Iyonna Satcher added 12 points, and Quitman rolled past Laurel 61-33 in East Central Community College’s Martin Luther King High School Basketball Classic.

“We responded very well to( Friday’s loss),” Vance said. “We jumped on them early, and we didn’t let up. Sometimes we have a tendency to jump on people early and then let up, but we finished the game, distributed our scoring around really well today and we had great leadership out of our older players.”

Vance said she challenged the players through a group text message to refocus and not worry about Friday’s loss, and Bostic said she and the other girls responded well to the challenge — so much so that it allowed the backups to get significant minutes late in the game.

“We trusted each other and knew we had to player harder the next game, so that’s what we did,” Bostic said. “We knew we wanted to have our bench help us in the next game, so in order for them to get in, we have to score, so that’s what we did, and they got in and did their thing.”

Quitman led 28-11 at the half and 43-15 at the end of the third quarter.

Bostic and Satcher both scoring in double figures has become a regular thing for Quitman, Vance said, and they showed the leadership needed on Saturday to help rebound from Friday’s game.

“They give us a double-double every night,” Vance said. 

Niyah Strickland and Raven Evans-Bonner both finished with seven points apiece for Quitman.

The Lady Panthers (9-12, 4-1) return to divisional play Tuesday when they host Mendenhall.

PONTOTOC BOYS 72, SOUTHEAST LAUDERDALE 49

ACKERMAN — All it took was for Pontotoc was one big quarter.

The Warriors used a big second quarter to help get past Southeast Lauderdale 72-49 in the Mid-Mississippi Classic at Choctaw County Saturday night.

“It was a foul-frenzy first quarter, but it was good that we had enough bodies to cycle in and out,” Pontotoc coach Rolley Tipler said. “We have depth, and I felt that took a toll on them, and we applied pressure.”

Pontotoc (15-6) never trailed the entire game.

The Warriors held a 24-18 lead after the first quarter and then outscored the Tigers 21-7 in the second quarter to extend their lead to 45-25 at halftime.

Caleb Hobson had a game-high 17 points to lead Pontotoc and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Manoj Nickson added 12 points, while Dajerious Scott and Tres Vaughn each chipped in eight points for the Warriors.

“We did a good job on defense taking charges, and we quit gambling,” Tipler said. “We just had to make them make shots, and that worked out for us. Caleb has had a great last two games — he had a big dunk last night that was a game-changer — and that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s going to excel in anything and does it well. It is all about consistency at the this point in the season and playing the same way every night and doing the little things right.”

Joshua Randle had 14 points to lead Southeast Lauderdale, while Travis Moore added nine points and Roman Hudnall chipped in eight points for the Tigers (12-7).

“I really believe we needed a game like this,” Southeast Lauderdale coach Centel Truman said. “We needed to be humbled, and we started picking up bad habits, and in these last couple games we’ve had big leads, and when you play a good team like that who’s going to be in the state tournament somewhere, it’s an opportunity to humble ourselves. I guarantee this: We will get better and learn from this.”