Enterprise girls drop three pointers to beat Bogue Chitto

Published 9:59 pm Thursday, February 8, 2018

A flash flood of three-point shots floated Enterprise’s Lady Yellow Jackets to high ground Tuesday night against Bogue Chitto, getting them out of a dry spell and into a 43-33 road win.

A defensive battle in the first half left the Enterprise girls down 14-9 early in the third quarter when seniors Carlee Nations, Jana Nations and Monisha Pendleton scared up an 11-2 run to get a lead that would last the rest of the game. Carlee Nations fired up two three-pointers against the Lady Bobcats’ zone defense and sister Jana launched a third, with Pendleton getting inside for two during the three-minute attack.

“I knew we had to start making outside shots,” Carlee Nations said. “So any time I had an open look, I put it up.”

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Carlee Nations put it up nine times from the arc, connecting on four for a 44 percent three-point average. It was the only way Enterprise could loosen up Bogue Chitto’s zone defense, which built a wall around the paint and held the Lady Yellow Jackets to just nine first-half points.

The Lady Bobcats’ inner defense showed up in the game stats, where Enterprise recorded just two offensive rebounds, both by Jana Nations. The third quarter’s sharp burst of three-pointers forced Bogue Chitto out of the zone and opened up the stiff contest, resulting in an intense girl-against-girl battle for the remaining two quarters.

“When they started guarding us, we swung the ball a lot quicker and got some inside looks,” Carlee Nations said.

The Enterprise girls pushed the lead out to a roughly 10-point margin and held it there for most of the second half, and Carlee Nations kept her team out front by hitting eight of 13 free throws in a foul-heavy four-minute stretch to end the fourth quarter.

“We finally made some shots. Making shots and free throws was the difference in this game. That’s been our Achilles’ heel all season,” said Enterprise coach Shane Adams. “Bogue Chitto’s No. 1 (Lineka Newson) is a heck of a basketball player. We made a concentrated effort to stop her. Monisha Pendleton guarded her all game and did a great job.”

Carlee Nations led Enterprise in scoring with 22 points. Senior Karlee Burgess popped in eight points, while Pendleton scored six. Jana Nations’ hit a single three-pointer, while senior Eden Ward and junior Breyauna Johnson scored two points each.

Despite all the defensive attention paid her, Lady Bobcats senior Lineka Newson had an explosive second half, finishing with 21 points. Six other Bogue Chitto girls scored a basket each to combine for the team’s remaining dozen points.

“Enterprise came out playing good tonight. They shot the ball well and we got in foul trouble from the get-go and did not play smart defense,” said Lady Bobcats coach Christi Terrell. “Defensively, we did not do what we needed to do. Bottom line.”

The win moves the Lady Yellow Jackets to 10-7 on the season and 3-5 in Region 7-2A. West Lincoln’s Lady Bears sit atop the region at 6-1, but the middle is separated by just a game — Loyd Star is second at 4-3, Amite County is third at 2-3 and Enterprise is fourth despite having more victories.

The Lady Bobcats are on the bottom at 1-4 in the region. Terrell said next week’s region tournament, beginning Tuesday evening at Enterprise, is “do or die time” for her team.

Enterprise’s regular season is over. Bogue Chitto finishes the regular season tonight at West Lincoln.