JuCo basketball: Lady Eagles return home, beat ECCC

Published 11:05 pm Thursday, January 11, 2018

Meridian Community College returned home after a nearly month-long absence for its highly anticipated conference matchup with East Central Community College.

After suffering their second loss of the season on Tuesday, the home-court advantage and strong defensive play proved to be the right ingredients to get the Lady Eagles back in the win column as they defeated the Lady Warriors 66-56 Thursday night.

Shannon Tate scored a team-high 18 points, while West Lauderdale alumna Mallory Thompson finished with 15 points to move Meridian Community College to 9-1 on the season.

“We teach the kids on a daily basis that we take it one game at a time,” Lady Eagles coach Jocelyn McGilberry said. “(When) we come out and play full defense, nobody can stop us.”

East Central (8-2) trailed 42-39 with 2:43 left in the third quarter before the Lady Eagles’ defense clamped down and prevented the Lady Warriors from scoring for the duration of the period. Rokelia Wallace scored a two-point field goal while Courtney Hill added a 3-pointer during East Central’s scoring drought to help Meridian carry a 48-39 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We have a great team, but trying to sell our defense to the program is a different story,” McGilberry said. “If they start believing in the defense, like I said, nobody can stop us.”

Meridian led 21-9 at the end of the first quarter, but East Central chipped away in the second quarter behind Tamirra Haskin’s stellar shooting beyond the arc. Haskins, who entered Thursday’s game averaging 11 points per game, connected on three 3-pointers in the second quarter, as she scored 12 points in the second quarter. Meridian led 33-29 at halftime. 

Haskin finished with a game-high 24 points, and teammate Sharan Turner pitched in with eight points. Newton product Autumn Taylor tallied six points. 

“I feel like after the second quarter, they saw what defense we were playing, and they realized and took advantage of our defense,” Taylor said. “We have to crash the boards. We weren’t crashing the boards, and they were getting offensive rebounds. We have to box out and do the little things in order to win. We weren’t making good play or decisions — we weren’t playing smart.”

Up next: Meridian hosts Southwest Mississippi Community College on Jan 16, and East Central welcomes Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on Jan. 16.

Catching on

Thompson scored 15 points for the second time this season for the Lady Eagles. A freshman, Thompson worked her way into Meridian’s starting lineup, and at 37.5 minutes per game, is leading the Lady Eagles in minutes logged per contest. 

“It’s definitely different,” Thompson said of the JuCo level. “In high school, I played a different role than (in) college. We have great players on the team, and I’m still trying to find where I fit in and how I can contribute to the team. But it’s definitely a team effort in everything that I do, and in everything they do.”

McGilberry said Thompson’s work ethic has been admirable. 

“Mallory, she’s the type of kid who comes and practices every day, 110 percent,” McGilberry said. “There’s no question about it that she’s going to come in the game and give it. I tell my kids all the time that the way you practice is the way you’re going to play, and when this young lady comes on the court, she brings it. She has a big impact on our program, and we’re so happy to have her on the team.”

EAST CENTRAL MEN 89, MERIDIAN 77

Roti Ware tallied a game-high 30 points to power the Warriors past the Eagles Thursday night. Jaquan Dotson also scored 18 points, while Cameron Diggs added 14 points for the Warriors.

Alex Perry made four 3-pointers to lead the Eagles in scoring with 16 points to go along with Kylan Hamilton’s 15 points. 

Up next: Meridian hosts Southwest Mississippi Community College on Jan. 16, while East Central hosts Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on Jan. 16.