POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Holding Holmes to just 16 points in the first half, Pearl River jumped out to an early lead and did not look back. On the way to an 80-41 win, the Wildcats nailed 13 3-pointers, earning themselves a first-round bye in the Region 23 tournament.

"I'm really proud of us defensively and how we started," head coach Scotty Fletcher said. "We did a good job of guarding and keeping them off the free-throw line. We took what the defense gave us and made the extra pass, we controlled the glass."

FIRST HALF
Taylor Johnson-Matthews (Cleveland, Ohio.; Charles F. Brush) began the game on a roll. She scored the first 11 points for the Pearl River Wildcats (23-3 Overall; 10-1 MACCC). She finished with 21 points in the first half. The defense was phenomenal, holding the Holmes Bulldogs (13-11; 4-7) to 12 points in the first period and four in the second.

Johnson-Matthews shot her first 3-pointer early as it rolled around the rim and fell in, 5-2 PRCC. She landed another shortly after to make it 11-7 Wildcats.

Tiir Nyok (High Point, N.C.; Southwest Guilford) poked the ball loose and bodied her opponent slowly to the rim for a layup. Samya Brooks (Pontotoc) got around her defender for a left-handed layup, 15-7 PRCC. Hama'ya Fielder (Philadelphia; Neshoba Central) hit her first 3-pointer of the night. It was from long range with Avery Young (Iota, La.) on the assist.

Johnson-Matthews added her third 3-pointer as she smoothly stepped back and unleashed the 24-12 dagger. She then added another layup, setting the score at 26-12 in favor of Pearl River at the end of the first period. Young opened the second quarter with a running layup before Johnson-Matthews got back into the action. She converted a layup off the backboard and then added three more points.

Johnson-Matthews dished it to Young, who drove in before passing it back to Johnson-Matthews as she nailed a perfect 3-pointer, 33-12 Wildcats.

Pearl River's pace of play was slowly affecting the Bulldogs as the Wildcats took advantage, repeatedly beating HCC to the opposite end of the court. Mismatched numbers allowed Fielder to find uncovered territory as she hit her second 3-pointer, 38-14.

Young added some highlights to close out the first half. To begin, she launched a two-handed pass over many defenders and into the hands of Brooklyn Anderson (Greeneville, Tenn.; North Greene). She converted the pass for two points while drawing a foul. Young then found open space and put up a clean arching 3-pointer. Fielder was on the assist. Young then took the ball down the court, racing past defenders and dribbling back around before hitting a jumper off the right side.

The half closed with Pearl River leading 45-16.

SECOND HALF
Young picked up right where she left off as Brooks found her behind the 3-point line. She opened the second half with a 3-pointer straightaway from the basket. But scoring in the second half slowed down tremendously for both teams.

Fielder escaped off a screen before hitting a 3-pointer. Alexis Arrington (Terry) recorded the assist. Fielder followed that up with a second deep ball. She then fired off two more that both landed. She was in the zone, as between the barrage, she let one go from deep and nailed it, but a foul was called beforehand. The Wildcats led 66-23.

Young threw up a buzzer-beater behind the arc and cashed it in as the third period closed with the Wildcats leading 69-25.

With five minutes remaining, the Wildcats held a 40-point lead, 75-35. Janiah Caples (Vicksburg) closed the game by going 2-for-2 at the free-throw line after a steal and a foul at the basket. The final score from Marvin R. White Coliseum was 80-41.

BY THE NUMBERS
Johnson-Matthews led the Wildcats with 21 points. She shot 8-for-18 and 4-for-6 from deep. All of her points came from baskets in the first half. She also brought down eight rebounds.

Fielder trailed close behind with 18 total points. All her baskets were on long balls as she went 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

Young finished with 14 points. She shot 5-for-11 overall and 3-for-4 from deep. She also added six assists.

"I thought Hamya was lights out in the second half, she responded the right way. Taylor was so good and I thought Avery was good. Those three have been really steady every night," Fletcher said. "Avery always makes the right basketball play, she's smooth as ice and twice as nice."

NEXT UP
The Wildcats go on the road Thursday for a 5 p.m. tipoff against Jones College. The game will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/Watch. Tickets can be purchased at JCBobcats.com/Tickets.

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