NEWTON — After a successful season that culminated in an MHSAA Class 2A state championship, Newton girls basketball coach Perry Fletcher watched as three of his seniors received a sendoff of sorts.

Nia McCalphia, Myja McNichols and McKinley Ware all signed with Alcorn State, Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Hinds Community College, respectively, during a ceremony Wednesday afternoon at the Newton library.

McCalphia tallied 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals per game for the Lady Tigers this past season, while McNichols finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Ware had 10 points and six steals per contest.

“This is what we work for (as coaches),” Fletcher said. “Being successful and winning games, that’s good, but seeing young ladies and young men having the opportunity to go on to college and continue playing basketball and getting their education for free, that means everything.”

Newton finished with a 29-2 record this past season, went undefeated in Region 4-2A and defeated West Lincoln 39-33 in the Class 2A championship game last month. Fletcher said the three seniors who signed, and their two senior teammates Alaza Jones and Keyshawna Nelson, had a big role in the Lady Tigers winning a state championship due to their dedication rubbing off on the younger players.

“I’ve had the privilege of coaching a lot of individuals in my career, but these three young ladies are very special to me,” Fletcher said. “Their parents have done a great job in raising them, and the biggest thing that made the difference in my life, was they were the upperclassmen, and they bought into what I was selling. It trickled down to the rest of the team, so because they had the mindset to buy in, it made them easier to coach the rest of the team.”

One of Ware’s primary roles on the team was hitting the 3, and when Fletcher tried to work with her on her shot, she was initially skeptical she could turn into a 3-point shooter. Now that she’s earned a scholarship to Hinds, Ware said she’s glad she believed in her coach’s plan.

“It made a big difference,” Ware said. “It took a while, because at first I wasn’t trusting the process, but then I actually started trusting it, and it started working for me.”

Ware said Hinds women’s basketball coach Jakie Martin-Glass was the school’s biggest selling point for her.

“The coach had been looking at me and was interested in me for the longest time, more than any other schools,” Ware said. “I also like the campus, so I was sold.”

In addition to scholarship money for basketball, Ware is also enrolling in Hinds’ STEM program, for which she will receive academic scholarship help as well.

“I plan on going into the nursing field, and the STEM (program) is going to help me in biology, so I’m going to major in biology,” Ware said. “It’ll help me when I go off to a four-year college, and I wanted to be challenged (academically).”

McCalphia, who was nominated for The Clarion-Ledger’s female athlete of the year award, said she felt a good comfort level when she visited Alcorn’s campus in Lorman.

“When I went there, it was like a family,” McCalphia said. “I fit in there really well. The coaches, they were nice to me, and I knew they would take care of me academic-wise and on the court.”

With her high school career over, McCalphia said she’s grateful it ended with a state championship.

“I think we did well,” McCalphia said. “We reached our goal, and that’s all that matters.”

The end of high school also means she and her fellow seniors will no longer be playing together. 

“It’s been fun, very fun,” McCalphia said. “They’re like my best friends, so I’m going to miss them.”

McNichols said she feels the same way about her fellow seniors.

“It meant a lot to me,” McNichols said. “I’m going to miss them very much, but any break I get, I’m going to visit them.”

As for Co-Lin, McNichols said there were several things that sold her on the school’s program.

“I liked their vibe and how their coaches and players interact with each other and how good their educational system is,” McNichols said.

As a Newton native and soon-to-be Newton High School alumna, McNichols said she hopes she can make her school and community proud by representing it on the next level.

“This is my hometown, it’s where I come from,” McNichols said. “I’ve been playing here since seventh or eighth grade, and it’s just good to be here.”