MOORHEAD, Miss. — The Pearl River women's basketball team delivered one of its most complete offensive performances of the 2025-26 season Thursday night, rolling past Mississippi Delta 79-52.
"After the last game, we got together as coaches and decided we needed to do something different offensively," head coach Shanae Govan-Williams said. "We realized a lot of the shots we were missing were makeable. We talked to the girls about not getting sped up and trusting themselves. I think we did a great job of getting to our spots and knocking down open shots."
Freshman point guard Jahanna Wilson (Jackson; Callaway) turned in a career night, pouring in 29 points on an efficient 11-for-14 shooting performance. She connected on 7 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc and added four steals and three assists.
"I've been on her about trusting herself. She was this type of player in high school," Govan-Williams said. "It just takes time to adjust to the college game. When she saw that first 3 go through tonight, her confidence went through the roof."
Pearl River (9-4 overall; 2-0 MACCC) set the tone early against Mississippi Delta (6-5; 0-2), storming out to a 10-0 start. Wilson knocked down a pair of corner 3-pointers and jumped a passing lane for a layup, accounting for eight points during the opening surge. Jae'la Smith (Vicksburg; Porter's Chapel) capped the run with a deep jumper.
The Trojans responded to trim the deficit to 18-12, but Pearl River quickly reasserted control. Another long-range make from Wilson and a pair of baskets from Smith pushed the Wildcats ahead 25-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Chauncey Dixon (Leroy, Ala.; McIntosh) scored the Wildcats' first two buckets of the second quarter to extend the lead to 29-19. Pearl River then closed the half with a 9-0 run. Smith converted off an offensive rebound, Wilson and Cy'Nara Robinson (McGehee, Ark.) each finished floaters and Smith buried a 3 from the top of the arc to send the Wildcats into the break with a 42-24 advantage.
Wilson stayed hot coming out of halftime, opening the third quarter with a 3-pointer from the left wing. She buried three more triples in the frame as Pearl River stretched the margin to 59-34. The Wildcats tacked on three additional scores before the end of the quarter to carry a 66-36 lead into the final period.
Pearl River built its largest advantage of the night at 73-43 when Madison Hughes (Olive Branch; Center Hill) knocked down a 3-pointer. Mississippi Delta made a late push, but the outcome was never in doubt as the Wildcats closed out the 79-52 win.
LEADING THE WAY
Along with Wilson's 29-point performance, Smith finished with 18 points while also dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds.
Atessa Johnson (Lewisville, Ark.; Lafayette) and Robinson also reached double figures with 10 points apiece. Robinson added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Johnson contributed four assists.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns home Tuesday to host East Mississippi for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
TICKETS
Tickets are available at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $9 while tickets purchased on game day are $11.
TUNE IN
All home Pearl River basketball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320-AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
