POPLARVILLE — Sparked by freshman playmaker Jessica Melton, theCo-Lin Lady Wolves rallied past the Pearl River Community CollegeLady Wildcats 68-56 Monday night in a South Division showdown.Melton pitched in 11 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and made 4 assistsas the Lady Wolves improved their record to 14-6 overall and 9-2 inthe South Division, securing a berth in the state tournament.

In the men’s game, Pearl River turned back the Wolves 67-62,behind guard Carlos Cole’s 18 points.

Co-Lin resumes South Division action Thursday night, hostingEast Central. The women’s game tips off at 6 p.m., followed by themen at 7:45 in Mullen Gymnasium.

The Lady Wolves survived a tough road test todefeat Pearl River. Melton was joined in double figures by DanaKing, Gloria Lewis and Travalyn Smith with 10 points apiece.

Co-Lin head coach Gwyn Young said he was happy to see his LadyWolves win a tough road game. “We had foul trouble early and reallystruggled on offense but our bench kept us in the game. The way weplayed early, we were lucky to be down by one point athalftime.

“We handled Pearl River’s press in the second half and startedto get some easy baskets,” Young pointed out. “Our zone defense wasvery good at the end of the game.”

Pearl River got 19 points and 6 rebounds from Monique Dale, a5-10 sophomore forward from Ellisville. Kira Tillman added 11points.

The Wolves (10-10, 5-6) absorbed their secondstraight setback. It was the second game minus the services ofsophomore center Derek Jarvis who sustained a torn ACL in Co-Lin’swin over Gulf Coast.

Co-Lin got a game-high 21 points from sophomore forward JeremyRichardson and 15 from freshman guard Ledell Eackles. Freshmanguard Dexter Middleton added 11 points. Co-Lin’s two post players,Rayshone Autman and Don Lockhart, combined for just 7 points.

“Our effort and execution defensively were good but offensively,we stood around,” said Co-Lin men’s coach Dennis Sims. “We alsoshot a poor 34 percent from the floor.”

Pearl River (15-6), coached by Richard Mathis, led 30-25 athalftime. The Wildcats got 13 rebounds and 11 points from RaySelvage, a 6-8 sophomore center from Baton Rouge, La.

The Wolves made just 18 of 46 field goals inside the 3-pointline. The Wildcats were 24 of 53.