EMCC Lady Lions tip off hoops season with 68-64 road win over Pensacola State

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College made a big splash in Florida by tipping off the new basketball season with a noteworthy 68-64 road win over Pensacola State College during Friday's opener played at PSC's Hartsell Arena.

The tightly contested season opener stayed within a six-point margin throughout the game, as the visiting EMCC women overcame a six-point deficit with five minutes remaining to claim the victory in the final seconds.

With 10 newcomers on their 13-player roster, the Lady Lions held the early advantage with a 15-9 lead late in the opening quarter. The home-standing Lady Pirates flipped the six-point margin to move ahead, 27-21, with 2:30 left in the first half before taking a 32-28 halftime advantage.

A low-scoring third quarter that featured a pair of ties and saw the teams exchange leads set the stage for a hard-fought fourth quarter that went down to the wire. The final 10 minutes of play featured eight deadlocks.

After Pensacola State held a 55-49 lead with five minutes left in the game, the Lady Lions responded with eight unanswered points to briefly reclaim the advantage. Three more ties and three additional lead changes followed down the stretch.

After the Lady Pirates went ahead, 64-63, following a made free throw with 15.6 seconds remaining, EMCC freshman Kabreyia Garth scored on a runner across the lane to put the visitors back on top, 65-64, with 8.4 seconds left in the contest. PSC then missed on a drive to the basket with EMCC's Micaiah Satcher grabbing the rebound and hitting the back end of a two-shot foul to make it a 66-64 contest. With only 3.3 seconds remaining on the game clock and having to go the full length of the court, Pensacola State turned the ball over out of bounds before reaching halfcourt. EMCC's reigning all-conference guard Dukiaha Jones was then fouled with less than a second left and nailed a pair of free throws to seal the deal for the Lady Lions.

EMCC had four scorers in double figures with Satcher leading the way with 13 points. Panola College transfer guard Cenaya Calhoun-Jingles and Northwest Mississippi transfer forward Liberty Hughes followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Jones added 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and eight steals.

Defensively, the Lady Lions were credited with 23 steals, including 10 swipes – all in the first half – by freshman guard Bailey Siddell. Siddell and Garth previously led Tupelo High School to back-to-back MHSAA Class 7A state championships.

Head coach Isaiah Butler's EMCC Lady Lions are set to begin a week-long homestand by playing host to Baton Rouge Community College on Monday (Nov. 3). They'll also welcome Wallace State-Hanceville to Scooba for a Thursday (Nov. 6) contest on the Scooba campus. Both games are slated for 5:30 p.m. tipoffs at EMCC's newly renovated Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.