First year North Pike girls’ basketball coach Ron Kessler has a bench full of Jaguars at his disposal, dressing out 18 players on Monday for his MHSAA 5A program.

Bogue Chitto head coach Marc Howard and his 2A Bobcats had eight players in uniform on the home bench in the meeting between the two schools at BC. The Bobcats were missing a couple players who were suiting up that night for soccer while another was out with an injury.

The larger, deeper Jaguars led wire to wire in a 48-17 win that moved North Pike to 11-1 on the season.

Kessler, who’s previously coached at Wesson and Brookhaven Academy, saw his team get a game high 17 points from sophomore point guard Kadence Thompson. Junior Zy’Keiya Herring added nine points and junior Asia Brumfield chipped in eight points for NP in the win.

The only setback this season for NP was a 43-38 loss to Forrest County AHS last month. The Jaguars open Region 3-5A play on Friday with a trip to play at Natchez High.

The Jags had a similar start last season, beginning the year with a 10-1 record for former coach Laura Lee Holman, who stepped down after the season to take the head volleyball position at her alma mater, New Hope High.

Kessler worked with his new team through the summer and has liked the growth shown thus far by the Jaguars with only one senior on the roster. On Monday, Thompson pushed her team in transition as the Jaguars had a clear plan to take the ball to the hole.

“We want to push the ball every chance we can and use our athleticism to attack the rim,” said Kessler about his inaugural team in Summit. “They are buying in and working hard every day and we hope to make a big push in district play and allow that to carry us into the postseason. With only one senior, the next couple of years look very promising.”

For Bogue Chitto, this season is one where the team is learning to play without an overwhelming post presence for the first time in a long time. Former Bobcat standout DeMya Porter is a freshman at Southern University in Baton Rouge.

A four-year starter for Bogue Chitto and the Daily Leader All-Area MVP last season, Porter scored 12 points in 15 minutes for Southern in a loss last week at no. 6 ranked Texas.

BC and coach Marc Howard are 1-0 in Region 7-2A after getting a 51-39 win over Wilkinson County earlier this month.

With two of the most experienced players in the region in senior guard Neeli Magee and junior wing Destinee Thompson, expect Bogue Chitto to battle with West Lincoln and Loyd Star atop Region 7-2A.

The first game back after the Christmas break for Bogue Chitto is a home date on Jan. 3 against West Lincoln.

Before then, BC will play against Enterprise, Franklin County, McComb, and Brookhaven High. The Bobcats beat Enterprise (43-35) and Franklin County (48-46) in games played earlier this season. The games against McComb and BHS will come in the McComb High Christmas Tournament that runs Dec. 27-28.

North Pike had previously beaten Bogue Chitto 61-13 in Summit on Nov. 12.

A jumper by freshman Kilanah Haynes pulled BC to within 7-6 midway through the first quarter, but that would end up being the last points of the first half for the Bobcats as North Pike led 11-6 after the first quarter and 23-6 at halftime.

Haynes led the way with seven points on Monday while Thompson scored five points and Magee added three points. Meghan Richardson rounded out the BC scoring with two points.

The loss on Monday dropped Bogue Chitto to 5-6 on the season.