Lady Wolves clear first hurdle in state tournament
Published 6:00 am Tuesday, February 25, 2003
WESSON – Co-Lin didn’t have its A-Game going Monday night butthe Lady Wolves played well enough to whip Northwest 75-46 in theopening round of the MACJC State Basketball Tournament. Directingthe triumph was sophomore guard Tiania Burns with 20 points and 6rebounds in Mullen Gymnasium. She was supported by freshmenVictoria Richardson and Lauren Williams who came off the bench andchipped in 10 points apiece.
Co-Lin (26-0), unbeaten and ranked No. 3 in the nation, advancesto Wednesday’s semifinals and meets Pearl River (20-6) at 6 p.m.Pearl River, seeded No. 3 in the South, eliminated North No. 2 seedNortheast 73-63 last night.
In the other semifinals game, South No. 2 Southwest (18-7) playsNorth No. 1 Mississippi Delta (19-7) at 1:30 Wednesday.
Four opening round men’s games are on tap today. In theafternoon session, Gulf Coast plays Northwest at 1:30 and EastCentral meets Holmes at 3:15. Tonight’s action sends Pearl Riveragainst Itawamba at 6 and Southwest against Miss. Delta at7:45.
The Lady Wolves rode the 17 first-half pointsof Burns to a lopsided 39-16 halftime advantage. Co-Lin nevertrailed as Burns hit the first two field goals of the game and thenpumped in a trey which gave her team a 7-4 advantage.
“It was a good, first-round win,” said Co-Lin women’s coach GwynYoung. “We had some starters who played well and some who didn’t.Our bench people did good.
“Overall we did a pretty good job on defense,” Young continued.”We did a a good job on (LaShonda) Holman,” Northwest’shigh-scoring guard. Holman, a long-distance shooter, made just 1 of12 field goal attempts.
“Lauren Williams had a good game for us with 10 points and 7rebounds,” said Young. “Victoria Richardson and Loretta Martin alsoplayed well.”
Richardson accounted for 5 rebounds. Martin had 9 points, 4rebounds and 3 steals in a reserve role.
Sophomore starting forward Lindsay Altman accounted for 7rebounds in the victory. Altman said her team was fired up.
“We got real pumped up for this one,” said Altman. “We had someplayers come off the bench and do a real good job for us.”
Co-Lin point guard Ayme Beeson said the Lady Wolves are takingit one game at a time as they strive for a successful state titledefense. “We have one down and two to go. We had some people stepup and help us out tonight.”
Williams, a strong 5-11 freshman from Mendenhall, provided aspark as the first half wound down. She scored 6 points and grabbed3 rebounds in the last 3 minutes, helping build the 23-pointhalftime advantage.
Northwest (12-12), coached by Don Edwards, got 10 points fromCassandra Henry and Angelina Graham. Henry, 6-foot sophomore postfrom Lewisville, Ark., accounted for 8 rebounds.
Pearl River 73, Northeast 63
The Lady Wildcats tuned up for another showdown with Co-Lin ascat-quick guard Audosha Kelly pumped in 15 points. Center KristieMcKinley added 13 points, Stephanie Gonzales 12 and SamanthaFlennory 10.
Northeast (11-11) got 17 points from Marquieta Thomas. LatoyaDavison added 12 pints and Pricilla Berry 11.
Southwest 75, Holmes 72
Tara Abdul-Hadi poured in 22 points to lead the Lady Bears overHolmes. Hadi sank a field goal and 2 free throws in the final 25seconds to preserve the victory.
Six-foot sophomore center Nakeya Downing chipped in 16 pointsand Tramecia Williams 12.
Holmes got 16 points from Megan Colona and 15 from JenniferAndrews.
Delta 61, East Central 51
Thirteen points by Keona Williams led the Lady Trojans over EastCentral. Saprina Reed and Shakeeta Boyd added 11 points and LawandaStewart 10.
East Central got 21 points from Temekia Foley.