Boyd’s 40 points sends Whiteoak to season-opening win; Cumberland earns first coaching victory

MOWRYSTOWN — The wait was worth the reward for the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats on Thursday evening. After being the final team in Highland County to start their 2025-26 girls basketball season, not only did head coach Tirrell Cumberland earn his first win at the helm of the varsity Lady ’Cats, but senior Kyra Boyd scored 40 points in her debut with her new team. 

Boyd — who the past three seasons played at Hillsboro — took control of the game on the offensive side of the ball, as her 40-point effort for Whiteoak led the Lady ’Cats to a 69-44 win at Whiteoak High School against the Peebles Lady Indians. 

The Dec. 4 Southern Hills Athletic Conference game saw Boyd finish with 14 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and she was 6-of-14 from the free-throw line. Boyd scored nine points in the first frame, 15 points in the second, then followed that with seven points in the third and ended the game with another nine points in the fourth quarter. 

“(Kyra) has put in a ton of work, but there were a lot of things I’m not happy about,” Cumberland said. “She didn’t finish well at first, but I told people she’s capable of 40 on a lot of nights, but personally I’m not happy how she got the 40. We’ve had her for two and a half years, so I’m hard on her. We train and train and train, so I expect a lot of her, and she’s capable of that. I’d rather her have 25 and have 10 assists to go along with other things, but I can’t complain. We needed it. 

“They were physical with us, and we didn’t respond exactly how I would like us to respond to the physicality. We missed a lot of box-outs, and our rotations on the defensive end were late and slow. If they (Peebles) passed the ball better, it is a tight game. That’s my opinion. We missed a lot of free throws. We have a lot of things to clean up, but it was a good first win. It was a good test for us because they were physical, but overall we have some work to do.”

Whiteoak also had seven points from Chanel Captain, four points scored by Jillian Lucas and two points from Dinah Ames. 

In all, the Lady ’Cats totaled 24 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and they were 12-of-24 from the free-throw line as a team. Peebles’ team totals were 11 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers, and they were 16-of-22 in their free-throw attempts. 

Kendall Myers led Peebles with 22 points, totaling three two point baskets, and she was 16-of-22 from the free-throw line. Alyssa Smalley scored seven points for PHS, and the rest of their scoring included Amryn Carroll, Paysen Shiveley and Rayna Beckham each with four points, while Kyndall Alonso scored three points. 

The first frame of the game saw WHS take an early 6-0 lead with baskets by Boyd and Lucas scoring points, and later it was Captain putting WHS ahead by an 8-1 score with a layup. After a Peebles basket, Boyd had a put-back bucket for a 10-3 advantage, and in the final moments of the first it was another basket in the paint by Boyd, followed by a jumper by Ella Howard for a 15-5 lead to end the opening quarter. 

Whiteoak really came to play in the second frame, scoring 26 points in eight minutes adding to their 10-point lead. By the time the quarter came to a close, the Lady ’Cats led 41-20. The scoring for WHS in the quarter consisted of 15 points from Boyd, four points each by Captain and Libby Webster, two points from Ames and one point by Howard. 

WHS added 19 points in the third, outscoring Peebles 19-16 for a 60-36 lead, as Boyd, Captain, Lucas, Howard and Webster all contributed to the third-quarter scoring for Whiteoak. In the fourth quarter, Whiteoak had all nine points scored by Boyd. Peebles ended the fourth frame with eight points. 

“It is a big relief to get back on the court and get the win,” Cumberland said. “A lot of my questions got answered tonight. It is easy to say we did this well in a scrimmage and did that well, but getting into a game in front of a nice crowd, it is real, and it means something. It is nice to get that underneath our belt. We got some film and we have a quick turnaround. 

“We have Paint Valley next and a nice test on Thursday against Fayetteville, so our schedule isn’t getting any easier. It only gets harder, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”

Cumberland spoke about getting the first win as a varsity head coach. 

“It is nice getting it. I knew I’d eventually get one, I hoped, but I wanted this one to just get it out of the way,” Cumberland said. “The girls were nervous, they were worked up, but I don’t know why because I work them hard in practice, but like I said we have a lot to clean up, and we should have been better prepared, but that’s on me at the end of the day. This first win is a good one, but I just want to continue to get better and grow.”

The win moves WHS to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the SHAC Division II standings. Next for Whiteoak in a game on Monday, Dec. 8 against the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats at home with a 6 p.m. JV tip-off. 

BOX SCORE 
PHS     05 15 16 08 — 44
WHS    15 26 19 09 — 69

WHITEOAK (69) — K.Boyd 14 (2) 6-14 40, C.Captain 3 (0) 1-4 7, J.Lucas 2 (0) 0-0 4, D.Ames 0 (0) 2-2 2, E.Howard 2 (0) 3-4 7, L.Webster 3 (1) 0-0 9. TOTALS: 24 (3) 12-24 69. 

PEEBLES (44) — A.Carroll 2 (0) 0-0 4, K.Alonso 0 (1) 0-0 3, A.Smalley 2 (1) 0-0 7, K.Myers 3 (0) 16-22 22, P.Shiveley 2 (0) 0-0 4, R.Berkman 2 (0) 0-0 4. TOTALS: 11 (2) 16-22 44.