East Central women top Pearl River, even South record

Sports

Discussion

January 31, 2012

By David Landrum / Sports Writer The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Tue Jan 31, 2012, 06:00 AM CST

DECATUR —     Coming in to Monday’s action, there were four teams vying for spots in the South Division’s half of the MACJC state women's basketball tournament. Copiah Lincoln, Jones, Pearl River and Mississippi Gulf Coast were in good shape to represent the South. Now, you can add one more team to the mix – the East Central Warriors.

   Xzandra Dowd led three players in double figures as ECCC defeated Pearl River Community College 75-64. Dowd and Jakela Johnson each scored 12 points while Ja’Mo,nica Orton added 11 for the Warriors (3-12, 3-3). Shanta Echols led PRCC with 13 points while Tay Johnson added 12 for the Wildcats (10-5, 4-2).

   East Central coach Bill Smith said the formula for the team’s recent success is simple - motivation.

   “We told our girls that if they wanted a shot at the state tournament, this was one they had to have,” Smith said. “They came out and played hard tonight.”

   ECCC shot 53 percent (16-30) in the first half as they built up a double-digit lead early in the contest. Down 37-19 midway through the first half, PRCC made a run that cut the lead to 42-34 at the half.

   “They’ve got a good team regardless of their record,” Pearl River coach Toby Bush said. “They came out tonight and hit some shots on us. We got down on ourselves and couldn’t dig ourselves out of a hole.”

   PRCC cut the Warrior lead to 54-53 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, however, the Wildcats couldn’t take the lead away from the Warriors.

   “Too many turnovers,” Bush said. “Give credit to East Central, they’ve been through some wars this year, some close games, and you can tell. When it mattered, they made the plays they needed to and we didn’t.”

   The win puts ECCC into a tie for fourth place with Gulf Coast. The loss drops Pear River in to a tie for second place with Jones, a 72-70 loser to first place Co-Lin. Both teams return to action Thursday. PRCC plays Alabama Southern at home while ECCC travels to Perkinston to play Gulf Coast.

Pearl River men   70

East Central   56

   Pearl River outscored East Central 42-34 in the second half as the Wildcats won. Yondarius Johnson scored 17 points and led three players in double figures. Quintin Watkins scored 16 points while Zane Knowles added 15 points for PRCC (8-8, 4-2).

PRCC Coach Richard Mathis said ECCC ran a lot of baseline screens in their first half and his team didn’t adjust at first.

   “We left their shooters wide open at times,” he said. “They didn’t miss much.”

   ECCC (1-14, 1-5) shot 42 percent in the first half (12-28), however, the Warriors only held a four point lead at the half, 32-28. In the second half, PRCC clamped down on defense only allowing the Warriors to shoot 25 percent.

   “They sagged a lot with that 2-3 zone they have,” ECCC coach Maurice Bowie said. “We also went away from getting the ball to the people that can score.”

   PRCC and ECCC traded baskets in the second half until the 10-minute mark when PRCC took the lead for good 54-53 on free throws from Knowles. From that point on, PRCC dominated East Central, out scoring them 16-3 down the stretch.

   “We had way too many turnovers tonight and we shot ourselves in the foot,” Bowie said.

Text Only

Sports

Neel leaving champion War Eagles for Panthers
    Eric Neel spent three seasons coach at East Central. The Hornets played in three state championship games.
   Neel then coached the past three years at Wayne County, leading the War Eagles to three straight Class 5A fast-pitch state crowns.
   And now, he doesn’t see why the same can’t occur at Quitman. After guiding Wayne County to its third straight championship Saturday, Neel resigned his position in Waynesboro on Thursday to replace Kacie Roberson at Quitman.

May 26, 2012
Unexpected Honor
Winning a state championship, that Blake McMullen expected.
To be named the Player of the Year in Class 3A by the Mississippi Association of Coaches, that caught the Southeast Lauderdale senior off guard.

May 26, 2012 3 Photos
RCA’s Lee and pair of Generals chosen for All-Star tilt
Russell Christian Academy senior Camryn Lee and Newton County Academy duo Clay Upton and Dillon Williams will wrap up their senior seasons today.
The local trio will play in the MAIS All-Star Class A game at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson at 2 p.m. The Class AA-AAA game will follow.

May 25, 2012
McFarland named first-team All-American for Jones County
The honors continue to come in for the Jones County Junior College softball program.
Pitcher Ginger Lonergan and centerfielder Relanda McFarland were both named to the NJCAA Division II All-American first-team on Thursday.

May 25, 2012
A Family Affair
Five days. Two state titles. One family.
It’d be hard to find a family that had a better week than the one Robbi and Shay Cooper just experienced.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
Roundup — Stephens receives Sekul Award
Adding to his impressive collection of coaching hardware, East Mississippi Community College head football coach Buddy Stephens was presented with the 2011 George Sekul Award during the All-American Football Foundation’s Banquet of Champions held earlier this month at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

May 24, 2012
The Drought Is Over
All Mason Irby was hoping for was to find a way on base.
The Southeast Lauderdale sophomore did that and so much more. Irby's single with two outs in the seventh inning broke a tie, lifting the Tigers to a 6-3 MHSAA Class 3A state championship win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday, and handing Southeast (32-7) its first title since 1966.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos 1 Slideshow
Ramey shines again, hurls Tigers to MHSAA Class 3A crown
    The bar was set pretty high.
   After all, Southeast Lauderdale senior right-hander Colby Ramey needed just 65 pitches to beat Kossuth in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game Thursday.
   However, according to fellow senior Blake McMullen, Ramey cleared the hurdle Wednesday when he scattered eight hits on 104 pitches to finish off the Aggies in a 6-3 state championship-clinching win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Southeast wins MHSAA Class 3A Championsip Slideshow from the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game between Southeast Lauderdale and Kossuth.
May 23, 2012 1 Photo
Briarwood to host Emerald Coast Golf Tour in June
Professional golf is coming to Meridian.
The Emerald Coast Golf Tour will be holding the Meridian Pro-Am Classic at Briarwood Country Club June 26-29.

May 23, 2012
More Sports Headlines

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

East Central women top Pearl River, even South record

Site Map

Contact Us