POPLARVILLE, Miss. – The Pearl River women's basketball team sent its sophomores out on a high note with a resounding 61-47 victory over Coahoma on Thursday in Marvin R. White Coliseum.
J'Mani Ingram (North Augusta, S.C.) and Brandy Scott (Hammond, La.) both scored in double digits in the last regular season home game before the Region 23 playoffs begin this Monday.
"Coahoma gave us fits. I thought the rebounding was huge," PRCC head coach Scotty Fletcher said of the Wildcats performance. "We only gave up five offensive rebounds, that was the stat of the game.
"Coach Mac did a phenomenal job on the scouting, and so did coach Tori."
FIRST QUARTER
The Wildcats (22-2 overall; 12-2 MACCC) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead with a quick basket by Ingram and a steal and score by Jaliscia Florence (Tupelo). After a 3-pointer by Coahoma (12-8 overall; 8-5 MACCC), Halle Traylor (Tupelo) responded with a 3-pointer of her own to bring the lead back to four, 7-5. Tierra Simon (Houston, Texas; Heights) got in the scoring column with a nice layup to bring the score to 9-5.
On the next possession, Ingram scored on a nice layup after slicing through a pair of defenders. Keshunti Nichols (Pearl) hit an open 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 14-5 lead. Ingram closed out the scoring for the Wildcats after grabbing a defensive rebound. She drove the length of the court and was fouled while shooting. Ingram made both free throws to give the Wildcats a 16-5 lead. Coahoma scored six unanswered points to close the Wildcat lead to five, 16-11.
SECOND QUARTER
Ty'Mesha Reed (Meridian) opened the second quarter by securing a defensive rebound, and Scott converted on the offensive end with a big 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 19-11 lead. Shavers got in the scoring column after Simon found her with a nice pass. Shavers fought through two defenders to score on a layup to keep the Wildcat lead at eight, 21-13.
After Coahoma scored on back-to-back possessions, Hama'ya Fielder (Philadelphia, Miss.; Neshoba Central) made the defender bite on a pump fake and drained a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 24-17 lead.
Ingram again used good defense to create great offense. After stealing the ball under the Coahoma basket, Ingram drove the length of the court for an easy layup, 29-22.
Not to be outdone, Scott pulled down a defensive rebound, drove three-quarters of the court and scored on a nice floater in the lane to bring the halftime score to 33-25.
THIRD QUARTER
Florence and Ingram opened the second half by scoring with a couple of quick baskets, 39-28. Both teams followed with scoring droughts. After a timeout with 5:33 left in the quarter, Ingram scored on an athletic spinning layup. Refusing to rest on her laurels, Ingram scored again on a spin move leading to a jumper in the lane, 43-31.
Scott closed the quarter with a layup and a nice 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Wildcats a 48-34 lead.
FOURTH QUARTER
Florence gave the Wildcats a 16-point lead after creating a steal, Florence drove the length of the court while being fouled on the shot. Florence made both free throws to bring the score to 52-36. Florence followed with a nice drive in the lane to find a cutting Traylor with a perfect pass for an easy layup, 55-38.
With Coahoma pressing, Reed found Florence, who broke through the press for a layup with 2:49 left in the game, 57-40.
After two Coahoma baskets, Ingram broke through a trap and drove the lane for a layup, 59-45. Shavers closed out the scoring by converting a couple of free throws with 27 seconds remaining in the game to bring the final score to 61-47.
LEADING THE WAY
Ingram turned in another impressive performance, scoring 20 points with four rebounds and one steal.
"Everybody calls and wants to know what size she is, how tall she is," Fletcher said of Ingram. "J'Mani Ingram is a winner, she is a champion, plain and simple. When you put the ball in her hands, she knows what to do with it."
Shavers pulled down 10 rebounds with four points and three steals.
"I thought Marcavia was dominant on the glass with 10 boards," Fletcher commented on Shavers.
Scott came off the bench and scored 10 points with four rebounds and one steal.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to the court on Wednesday, hosting the second round of the Region 23 Tournament. The game will start at 6 p.m., the opponent yet to be determined. More information will be made available soon.
CASHLESS BOX OFFICE
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2022-23. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.
TUNE IN
Pearl River livestreams all home games 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 Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
