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BOONEVILLE — If Tupelo’s girls are to return to Jackson, the road will be paved largely by new faces.
The Golden Wave are breaking in four new starters this summer. The team reached the state championship game three years in a row (winning it all in 2024 and 2025) before being knocked out in the quarterfinals last season.
“We've got a lot of new faces down, as you can tell,” coach Matt Justice said. We’ve got four or five (sic) new girls that are kind of stepping into different roles, so we’re just trying to figure them out this summer and see what they can do so that we know what we have to work on come August.”
In a summer league game against New Hope at Northeast Mississippi Community College on Thursday morning, Tupelo was led in scoring by one of those new faces; eighth-grader Aubrey Thomas.
Thomas, a transfer from Ridgeland, led the Golden Wave with 13 points in its 38-15 win. She is just 12 years old, but holds a Division I offer from UT Martin.
“We're excited about her, and she's really young,” Justice said. “She’s got a lot to work on, but her ability right now, and raw ability at her age, is impressive.”
Another new face is Bri Macon, a senior who transferred in from Itawamba AHS. She will be counted on as an inside-out piece on offense. She had four points in Thursday’s win.
Everyone in the program, from those who are in their first year to those who have been in it for a while, are aware of the expectations. The time leading up to the regular season will be spent honing in on the desire to return to The Big House.
“We got a lot of young ones, but the ones that have been here and have seen it, it's their time to step up and keep pushing each other and pushing our program to that level each year,” Justice said. “Getting them to understand that is a process, and taking ownership of the team, and that's what we're trying to get them to understand, is that they have to take ownership of it and want that for our program.”
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The Golden Wave are breaking in four new starters this summer. The team reached the state championship game three years in a row (winning it all in 2024 and 2025) before being knocked out in the quarterfinals last season.
“We've got a lot of new faces down, as you can tell,” coach Matt Justice said. We’ve got four or five (sic) new girls that are kind of stepping into different roles, so we’re just trying to figure them out this summer and see what they can do so that we know what we have to work on come August.”
In a summer league game against New Hope at Northeast Mississippi Community College on Thursday morning, Tupelo was led in scoring by one of those new faces; eighth-grader Aubrey Thomas.
Thomas, a transfer from Ridgeland, led the Golden Wave with 13 points in its 38-15 win. She is just 12 years old, but holds a Division I offer from UT Martin.
“We're excited about her, and she's really young,” Justice said. “She’s got a lot to work on, but her ability right now, and raw ability at her age, is impressive.”
Another new face is Bri Macon, a senior who transferred in from Itawamba AHS. She will be counted on as an inside-out piece on offense. She had four points in Thursday’s win.
Everyone in the program, from those who are in their first year to those who have been in it for a while, are aware of the expectations. The time leading up to the regular season will be spent honing in on the desire to return to The Big House.
“We got a lot of young ones, but the ones that have been here and have seen it, it's their time to step up and keep pushing each other and pushing our program to that level each year,” Justice said. “Getting them to understand that is a process, and taking ownership of the team, and that's what we're trying to get them to understand, is that they have to take ownership of it and want that for our program.”
Continue reading...
