By Elton Hayes

ehayes@themeridianstar.com

After allowing Meridian Community College to take just its second lead of the game with 3:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, East Mississippi Community College sophomore guard Anissia May connected on a field goal with 2:05 remaining in the contest to put the Lady Lions ahead 60-59.

East Mississippi Community College’s one-point lead was reinforced when freshman guard Tyeisha Juhan hit one of her two free-throw attempts with eight seconds left to give the Lady Lions a 61-59 win over the Lady Eagles Thursday night at Meridian Community College.

East Mississippi improved to 6-3 with the win, while Meridian Community College fell to 7-3.

“I’m proud of our kids, especially some of the ones who really hadn’t contributed much during the season (who) stepped up tonight,” Lady Lions head coach Sharon Thompson said. “For us to get a big win like this on the road, in a big rivalry game… we’re really proud of the kids who stepped up and showed some guts and whit — in spite of our two best players not playing well.”

Juhan finished with a team-high 21 points, May contributed 14 and sophomore forward Quantesha Patterson chipped in with 13 points.

“At the end, we really stepped it up, got some rebounds, knocked down some shots and played good defense,” Patterson said.

The Lady Eagles were led by Qiayon Bailey who had a 15-point outing, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the second half.

“She’s definitely a true athlete,” Meridian Community College head coach Jocelyn McGilberry said of Bailey, a freshman. “She can play the 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 position for me, but I do have her as a 3 guard. She’s a great 3-point shooter, a strong rebounder and she’s aggressive to the basket. She’s just a kid who likes to win and loves the game. When she’s on the floor, she’s going to give 110 percent.”

The Lady Lions darted out to a 9-2 lead with 6:01 remaining in the first quarter, but the Lady Eagles wrestled the lead away when sophomore forward Andriel Moss converted an and-one basket with 1:27 left in the opening quarter to give Meridian Community College an 11-10 lead.

“We teach team them on a daily basis to give 110 percent, regardless of if we are down or up,” McGilberry said. “I think at that point, we had gotten down those points, and we just told them, ‘Hey, this is not the time. You have to come up out of this hole. If the hole gets deeper, we won’t be able to come out. So, hey, take it out there and give 110 percent.’ And that’s what we push, and that’s what we talk about on a daily basis — giving 110 percent.”

Patterson scored back-to-back baskets to close the first quarter, giving the Lady Lions a 14-11 lead to end the period.

Patterson made one of two free throws early in the second quarter to push the lead to 15-11. With 8:27 remaining in the second quarter, Bailey sank a field goal and drew a foul in the process to trim the Lady Lions lead to 15-14.

May made two free throws with 4:56 left in the second quarter to give East Mississippi Community College a double-digit, 27-16 lead, and the Lady Lions led 33-29 at the end of the first half.

Sophomore guard Robrieka Finn scored four points in the first three minutes of the third quarter to give the Lady Lions a 37-32 lead. Finn ended the contest with double-digit rebounds.

“Me playing my part, and everyone playing their parts, basically helped our team out,” Finn said. “I knew I couldn’t score that many points, so I had to get rebounds, steal and hustle (during) plays — anything.”

After trailing 52-45 at the end of the third quarter, Meridian Community College took its second lead since the first quarter with just over three minutes remaining in the game when freshman guard Rokila Wallace swiped the basketball from Juhan, and followed the steal with a layup, giving the Lady Eagles a 59-58 advantage. May’s field goal one minute later, and Juhan’s free throw iced the 61-59 Lady Lions victory.

“When we play together, and are solid on defense, I think we can beat anybody,” Patterson said following the win.