PHOTO Credit: Chuck Merickel
CASPER, Wyo. – The Pearl River women's basketball magical season came to an end after a hard-fought contest against Eastern Arizona in the first round of the NJCAA DI National Tournament in the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyo. on Tuesday. In their first NJCAA Tournament appearance since 2003, the Wildcats battled in a back-and-forth contest before the Gila Monsters pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 56-45 win.
"I am so proud to come as many miles as we have. We did a lot of firsts this year. Twenty-seven program wins is a record, the first time a Mississippi team received an at-large bid. I thought we represented well." Pearl River head coach Scotty Fletcher said. "Every girl on this roster has stepped up and contributed in big ways; I am proud of our growth as a team and as individuals. Fielder and Arrington have been staples for the past two years and set an incredible foundation.
People now know Pearl River women's basketball. They know we will be a defensive team; we are going to be tough to beat. The future of Pearl River women's basketball is as bright as ever."
FIRST QUARTER
Pearl River (27-5) jumped out early when Alexis Arrington (Terry) and Avery Young (Iota, La.) forced a turnover at midcourt following the opening jump ball. For a quick layup, Arrington found a streaking Taylor Johnson-Matthews (Charles F. Brush; Cleveland, Ohio). Johnson-Matthews struck again after an Eastern Arizona basket with a 3-pointer that rattled the rim to give the Wildcats an early 5-2 lead.
Eastern Arizona responded with a run to score seven unanswered points to grab a 9-5 lead. Audria Houston (Oxford; Tupelo) drained a basket inside the three-point line with 4:36 left in the quarter to stop the Gila Monster run, 9-7. Arrington responded after an Eastern Arizona (28-4) 3-pointer by landing a layup on a hard drive to the basket to cut the deficit to three, 12-9. Eastern Arizona closed the quarter with a four-point run to extend the lead to seven, 16-9.
SECOND QUARTER
Houston hit a short jumper to open the second quarter. Houston followed by securing a defensive rebound and scoring on a layup to get the Wildcats within three, 16-13.
Hama'ya Fielder (Philadelphia; Neshoba Central) found herself open on the elbow for a 3-pointer, keeping the Wildcats within striking distance, 20-16.
Fielder found the bottom of the net again, hitting a 3-pointer from the corner off an assist by Johnson-Matthews, 20-19. Johnson-Matthews put the Wildcats with a short jumper, 21-19.
Houston made a highlight pass to Samya Brooks (Pontotoc) for an easy basket following an Eastern Arizona basket. With the half winding down, Avery Young (Iota, La.) drove the lane and hit a floater over a defender to give the Wildcats a 25-22 advantage.
Eastern Arizona took advantage of a Wildcat miscue and scored on a fast break layup to cut the Wildcat lead to one, 25-24.
THIRD QUARTER
Both teams struggled to find offense in the opening minutes of the second half. Arrington broke the drought with two free throws at the 6:28 mark, giving the Wildcats a 27-25 advantage.
Both teams traded baskets through the remainder of the third quarter. The Wildcats relied on free throws in the back-and-forth third quarter, getting six of their final eight points on free throws from Houston, Arrington and Johnson-Matthews. Marley Freeman (Brandon) hit a short jumper outside the lane to close out the scoring, and the Wildcats headed into the fourth quarter tied, 35-35.
FOURTH QUARTER
Eastern Arizona opened the fourth quarter with a seven-point run in the first minute and a half to give the Gila Monsters a six-point advantage, 41-35, and forcing an early Pearl River timeout with 8:25 left in the fourth quarter.
Coming out of the timeout, Houston once again stopped an Eastern Arizona run by driving past a defender in the lane to score on a layup, 41-37.
Looking for an answer to the slow the Gila Monster momentum, Fielder was fouled attempting a 3-pointer at the top of the key. Fielder hit two out of three free throws to bring the Wildcats within seven, 46-39.
Eastern Arizona built an eleven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, 50-39, leading to a Wildcat timeout with 4:04 left.
Johnson-Matthews reduced the deficit to nine after fighting for a rebound and shooting over two defenders for a putback basket, 50-41.
Pearl River could only get as close as eight points in the remainder of the quarter, and Eastern Arizona pulled away to win 56-45.
"For forty minutes, they gave everything they had. We did not let shot-making and shot-missing determine how hard we fought tonight. We got down, fought back and took the lead," Fletcher commented. "At the end of the night, we only shot twenty-two percent from the field. That was kind of a tell-tale sign of the game. It wasn't because of a lack of effort or discipline. Sometimes, the ball doesn't go your way. We played good enough defense to give ourselves a chance to win; we just needed a bucket here or there."
BY THE NUMBERS
Johnson-Matthews led all Wildcats with 13 points and ten rebounds. Fielder contributed ten points and Houston added eight.
2023-24 PRCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The 2023-2024 Wildcats set a school record with 27 total wins and 13 conference wins in a season and were named 2024 MACCC Co-Champions. Fletcher was named the MACCC Co-Coach of the Year, and sophomore Johnson-Matthews was named MACCC Player of the Year.
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