POPLARVILLE, Miss. — It took a little time for the No. 12 Pearl River women's basketball team to get settled in during its first contest of the new year, but once the Wildcats had their feet under them, they proceeded to bash Columbia State, 78-32.
"I was really proud that we overcame a slow start and responded the right way defensively," head coach Scotty Fletcher said. "We didn't execute in certain areas, and the month off was probably the cause of some of that. We allowed 10 points in the first and held them to single digits the rest of the way — I liked the way we responded."
GAME RECAP
It was a slow start for the Wildcats, who fell behind 2-0 early before taking the lead on a Taylor Johnson-Matthews (Cleveland, Ohio; Charles F. Brush) 3-pointer. Two quick baskets from Avery Young (Iota, La.) and Samya Brooks (Pontotoc) helped PRCC extend an early 7-2 advantage.
Columbia State didn't go away and battled back to square up the game at 10-10 before the first quarter of play ended.
The between-quarter talk from the Pearl River coaching staff did the job as the Wildcats came out of the gate red hot. With the score locked at 12-12, PRCC rattled off 14 consecutive points to extend its advantage to 26-12.
The run began when Kamren Edwards (Jackson; Callaway) drove in the lane and kissed a floater off the backboard and into the net. A few plays later Alexis Arrington (Terry) dished a great pass inside to Roge'Ne' Hillard (Hazlehurst; Copiah Academy) who used a nifty move to get a layup to fall. Another highlight of the run was when Young found Johnson-Matthews wide-open in the corner. The Wright State transfer caught the pass and drained her 3-point attempt.
PRCC's lead continued to grow down the stretch, and a 2-for-2 trip to the free-throw line for Leah Wilcher (Brookhaven) sent the Wildcats into the break with a 17-point, 34-17 advantage.
Pearl River extended its lead to 20 points early in the third quarter when Young got the ball to Johnson-Matthews for a 3-pointer from the wing, 39-19. The advantage grew to 49-21 midway through the third when Wilcher was fed a pass inside and managed to knock down a basket despite being off-balance. On the next offensive possession, Young rushed down the court, stepped around a defender and scored through a foul, 49-21.
The final Wildcat basket in the quarter came via Mikayla Riley (Tupelo) as she snatched the ball away from a Chargers player at midcourt and dashed down the court for a buzzer-beating layup, 59-24.
PRCC grabbed a 65-26 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Hama'ya Fielder (Philadelphia; Neshoba Central) dribbled inside the paint, which forced the nearby defenders to draw inside. She turned around and lasered a pass to Johnson-Matthews for an easy 3-pointer.
Janiah Caples (Vicksburg) added in a corner 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the contest to help the lead grow to an impressive 42-point margin, 70-28.
Marley Freeman (Brandon) added a pair of baskets down the stretch to go along with a Caples layup, and Pearl River walked away with a 78-32 victory to open the new year.
BY THE NUMBERS
Johnson-Matthews finished with a game-high 20 points, marking her third straight 20-point game and fifth of the season. She also had four rebounds and two steals.
Freeman was second on the team with 11 points. She also added four assists and three steals.
"Marley was exceptional tonight at the point guard position," Fletcher said. "She controlled the floor and looked really, really good. She's getting more and more confident with every rep."
Hillard led the team in rebounding with eight to go along with five points and three blocks.
"Roge'Ne' was extremely awesome on the glass," Fletcher said. "She had some blocks and steals. I was really proud of her effort tonight."
Fielder wrapped up her night with a team-high six assists. She also added seven points and five rebounds.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference matchup with East Mississippi at Marvin R. White Coliseum.
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.
TICKETS
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2023-24. 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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).