Pearl River women's basketball held its opponents under 50 points for the seventh time this season Monday night in its season-opener, taking down East Central 53-40 inside Marvin R. White Coliseum.
"I am proud of our effort." head coach Shanae Govan-Williams said. "I don't think we shot it well, but when it counted, I think we stepped up when we needed to put it in the basket. I think it was an overall tough, gritty win."
Pearl River (8-4 overall; 1-0 MACCC) opened the scoring against East Central (4-8; 0-1) as Jae'la Smith (Vicksburg; Porter's Chapel) forced a turnover and pushed the ball in transition for an easy layup and a 2-0 lead. The Warriors briefly took the lead before Cy'Nara Robinson (McGehee, Ark.) knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from Smith to put the Wildcats back in front, 6-4.
After East Central tied the game at 6-6, Pearl River regained the advantage when Aubrey Hill (Tupelo; Biloxi) connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer. Smith added four free throws late in the quarter as the Wildcats built a 16-10 lead before a last-second Warrior 3-pointer made the score 16-13 at the end of the first.
Pearl River came out hot to start the second quarter, stretching the lead to 21-13 on a Jahanna Wilson (Jackson; Callaway) 3-pointer and an Atesa Johnson (Lewisville, Ark.; Lafayette) layup. East Central responded by scoring six of the next eight points to cut the deficit to 23-19 with 6:55 remaining in the half. The Wildcats answered with five free throws and a Chauncey Dixon (Leroy, Ala.; McIntosh) layup through traffic to push the lead to 30-22. Smith capped the half with a 3-pointer, sending Pearl River into the break ahead 33-22.
The Wildcats once again struck first in the second half as Robinson finished a layup to bring her total to 14 points and extend the lead to 35–24. East Central scored the next two baskets before Wilson drilled her second 3-pointer of the night. With Pearl River leading 38-29, Smith added two free throws to give PRCC its largest lead at 42–29. The quarter closed with the Wildcats on top, 42–33.
Defense dominated the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter, with just a Wildcat layup and a Warrior 3-pointer breaking the scoring drought. Alana Smith (Southaven) then sparked the offense by knocking down two 3-pointers, with Jae'la Smith adding another from long range in between. Pearl River closed out the game from there, securing a 53-40 victory.
LEADING THE WAY
Three Wildcats broke the double-digit mark in points tonight. Robinson put up 14 while also leading the team in rebounds with 11. Behind her was Jae'la Smith with 12 points. She also brought in six rebounds of her own while having two blocks and two steals.
Wilson also put up double figures, scoring seven of her 10 points in the second half. Dixon also hit the boards hard, bringing in six rebounds while having one block and one steal.
NEXT UP
Pearl River continues conference play as they hit the road to take on Mississippi Delta at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday
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