WESSON, Miss. — Pearl River's women looked poised Monday night to pick up a difficult win inside Copiah-Lincoln's Grayson L. Mullen Gymnasium.
Despite holding an early 11-point advantage, the Wildcats came up just short of getting a road win in their MACJC South opener and fell 88-79.
"You can't go up eight against a good team in this league that's been so dominant at home for years and expect to win," Pearl River coach Scotty Fletcher said. "The bottom line was, the ball went in early and we shot the ball well but we have to find a way to get stops."
HOW THE GAME WAS WON
The Wildcats (4-2 overall, 0-1 MACJC South) came out hot in Wesson, building a 22-13 advantage after the first quarter.
Co-Lin started to chip away at PRCC's lead in the second frame, but the Wildcats still held a 36-28 advantage at halftime thanks in large part to a team-high eight points from Alanna Smith (Picayune).
The Wolves really ramped up the pressure in the third, flipping the script on Pearl River to take a 60-56 advantage into the final frame.
Trailing 65-58, Mychala "Pooh" Linzy (Clinton) hit a big 3-pointer to pull within four early in the fourth, but Co-Lin (6-1, 1-0) responded with a long-range dagger of its own to push back ahead 68-61 with 8:09 remaining.
The Wolves clamped down on PRCC from there, never letting the visitors regain any of their early momentum.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Wildcats shot nearly 49 percent from the floor in the first half but cooled to 36.7 percent during the final 20 minutes Monday.
Co-Lin, meanwhile, was held to 36.4 percent shooting in the first half but exploded to shoot at a 63 percent clip in the final two quarters.
Smith led PRCC with a season-high 18 points. Linzy added 15 points, while Maliyah Bullard (Pass Christian) and Jakia Harper (Jackson; Provine) each scored 11. Shania Wright (Clinton) and Brieanna Miller (Moss Point) led PRCC on the boards with seven and six rebounds respectively.
NEXT UP
Fletcher's crew wraps up the fall semester with a trip to Niceville, Florida, to participate in Northwest Florida State College's two-day tournament. PRCC plays the host, ranked No. 2 in the country, on Thursday and then faces DME Academy on Friday.
The Wildcats will hit the ground running in 2020, playing at Delgado at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 before welcoming East Central to Marvin R. White Coliseum two days later.
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