February 4, 2022

It was a battle on Thursday night, Feb. 3, but the East Central Community College Lady Warriors ended a three-game losing streak with a stellar 59-49 win over the East Mississippi Lady Lions. With the win, the Lady Warriors improve to 8-9, 4-6 on the year, while the Lady Lions fall to 8-10, 5-5. 

After a slow start in the first quarter neither team was in control, but a 9-2 EMCC run, capped off with a three-pointer from Ciara Jackson, put the Lions on top by four, 11-7, with three minutes to play in the first frame. The Lady Warriors hit back with a pair of free throws from Mirial Cannon (Madison) and a big basket from Sylvia Jones (Brighton, Tenn.) to tie the game 11-all after one. 

The game saw another tie early in the second quarter with back-and-forth action down the floor, but ECCC caught fire and went on a 12-2 scoring onslaught two minutes into the quarter. The huge run was led by dominating paint play from both Myeisha Scott (Jackson) and Kaedre Denson (Philadelphia) and most baskets were the results of EMCC turnovers. After the Lady Warriors' burst, ECCC led 25-15 and was the turning point of the contest. 

ECCC maintained their lead as they outscored the Lady Lions, 15-13, in the third quarter and eventually grew the lead to as much as 14, 59-45, in the final minutes of the game as the Lady Warriors cruised to the win. 

Three Lady Warriors posted double-digits in the scoring column with Scott and Jones both posting team-high 12 point performances. Denson finished with 10. Scott cleaned the glass for ECCC with nine rebounds, while Shemaiah Smith (Terry) came off the bench and hauled in eight. Wynter Taylor (Dallas, Texas) had a strong game as she dished out five assists. The Lady Warriors also limited turnovers as they only posted 10 in the contest, but were outrebounded 48-40. ECCC finished the night shooting 43 percent from the field and a much-improved 82 percent from the free-throw stripe. 

EMCC was led by Siarra Jackson's 17 points, while Shakira Wilson scored 16. The Lady Lions shot 27 percent from the floor. 

The Lady Warriors are on the road on Monday, Feb. 7, as the team travels to Holmes to take on the Lady Bulldogs (1-17, 0-9) at 6 p.m. Links to the game will be posted when they become available.