POPLARVILLE — Pearl River's Lady Wildcats will look to start a new winning streak after falling for the first time in 2018-19 on Saturday. PRCC fell behind early and never fully completed the comeback effort, losing at Coastal Alabama-North 68-59.
Pearl River will open MACJC play on Monday, hosting Copiah-Lincoln at 5:30 p.m.
Scotty Fletcher's squad trailed 14-11 after the first quarter, and while Coastal Alabama extended its lead to 35-26 at halftime, PRCC pulled within four points at 48-44 heading into the final frame.
"I felt like it was a trap game. What I mean by that is is we shot the ball so well at our place with such a high margin of victory, that I knew it would be near impossible to shoot it that well at their gym," he said. "We focused on defense all week. If we're going to be successful, our bread and butter has to be on the defensive end and I don't think we executed or threw them off their game.
"We have to get a lot better on the defensive end if we're going to have a chance to be competitive in the (MACJC) South Division. Hopefully we can use this as a lesson and rebound with a great mindset."
PRCC (4-1) made 39 percent of its shots from the floor, but was 4-for-18 from 3-point range and made 11 of 17 free throws.
Olivia Mosley (Pearl) led PRCC's attack with 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor. The freshman added one assist and four rebounds.
"Olivia was really good tonight," Fletcher said. "We told her to make sure when she caught it the first thing she did was check the rim.
"Tonight we spread them out and opened up driving lanes for her."
Jakia Harper (Jackson; Provine) added eight points thanks to a team-high two 3-pointers. She also had three rebounds. Gabby Brown (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Choctaw) and Meah Monroe (Reserve, La.; East St. John) rounded out PRCC's leading scorers with seven and six points respectively.
Mychala Linzy (Clinton) and Maliyah Bullard (Pass Christian) led the Lady Wildcats with two assists. Brown pulled in a team-high six rebounds. Monroe, Dywana Parker (Gulfport), Elexis Peyton (Jackson; Provine) and Mosley each added four rebounds.
Bullard and Mosley led the Lady Wildcats with three steals apiece.
PRCC and the Lady Eagles split the season series after the Lady Wildcats won 99-68 at Marvin R. White Coliseum on Nov. 12.
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