EMCC Lady Lions never trail in earning hard-fought 50-47 road win over Mississippi Gulf Coast
The visiting Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College never trailed in claiming a hard-fought 50-47 road win over MACCC foe Mississippi Gulf Coast during Thursday’s non-conference women’s basketball action played at MGCCC’s Dantzler Arena.
PERKINSTON – The visiting Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College never trailed in claiming a hard-fought 50-47 road win over MACCC foe Mississippi Gulf Coast during Thursday's non-conference women's basketball action played at MGCCC's Dantzler Arena.
After scoring the game's first six points, EMCC held a slim 12-10 lead following the first 10 minutes of game action. The Lady Lions then netted the first two baskets of the second quarter on the way to outscoring Gulf Coast, 14-5, in the quarter and mounting a 26-15 halftime advantage.
Following the halftime break, the visitors lengthened their lead to 14 points (35-21) on Micaiah Satcher's three-pointer with 4:34 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs responded by scoring seven unanswered points en route to cutting their deficit to six points (37-31) on Roniya Ellis' banked three-pointer at the buzzer to end third-quarter play.
Gulf Coast, playing without starting point guard Taelar Felton and with three players fouling out in the contest, managed to pull within a point on three occasions during the fourth quarter. After EMCC built back an eight-point lead (46-38) with two minutes remaining in the game, MGCCC's Keela Bryan nailed a pair of treys to make it a 46-45 contest with 36.3 second left.
The teams then split a pair of free throws before transfer guard Cenaya Calhoun-Jingles stole an entry pass inside and proceeded to convert both charity tosses to put the Lady Lions ahead by three points with 13.8 ticks left on the game clock. Gulf Coast's subsequent three-point try was rebounded by Satcher to essentially secure EMCC's three-point road victory.
Credited with 20 offensive rebounds in the contest, the Lady Lions were led by guards Dukiaha Jones and Calhoun-Jingles with 10 points apiece. Bryan finished with a game-high 20 points for Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Head coach Isaiah Butler's 3-2 EMCC Lady Lions will wind down their pre-Thanksgiving holiday hoops slate with a pair of road trips to the neighboring state of Alabama against nationally ranked teams. Following a Monday (Nov. 17) visit to ninth-ranked Shelton State in Tuscaloosa, East Mississippi will have a rematch with No. 10 Wallace State-Hanceville on Thursday (Nov. 20).