POPLARVILLE, Miss — The No. 19 Pearl River women's basketball team got its MACCC title defense started with a bang Friday night inside Marvin R. White Coliseum, scoring more than triple Enterprise State's points with a 94-25 victory.
Enterprise State's 25 points were the least scored in a game since Chipola College beat the Boll Weevils 101-18 on Dec. 5, 2023.
"I'm proud of our defensive effort. Our activity was really good, and it created offense," head coach Scotty Fletcher. "We had 25 assists on 38 baskets. That's beautiful basketball. I was proud of how hard they played. They were disruptive on the defensive end."
A team that prides itself on defense, Pearl River (1-0 overall) got off to an incredible start on that end of the floor against Enterprise State (0-1), holding the Boll Weevils scoreless through the first 10 minutes.
Pearl River's biggest offensive highlight in the first 10 points of the night was courtesy of Jazmine Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.; Andrew Jackson). The Alcorn State transfer caught a pass down the right side of the court, moved inside and unleashed a spin move to lose a defender for a layup.
PRCC's next big play made the score 14-0. Paris Gilmore (Youngstown, Ohio; Warrensville Heights) was running straight toward the basket before tossing a pass over her head without looking to her trailing teammate, Sanyla Smith (Tupelo), for an easy layup.
Pearl River kept applying the pressure defensively and offensively and lead 24-0 after a quarter.
ESCC picked up its first point of the contest with a free throw when the second quarter began. Mattison Bell (Philadelphia; Choctaw Central) scored PRCC's next five points. The freshman caught a pass from Jackson and drained a 3-pointer and followed it by stealing a ball away from an unsuspecting Boll Weevil player and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup, 29-1.
The lead swelled to 40-5 a while later when Sanyla Smith grabbed a defensive board and took it all the way down the court for the bucket. Before the quarter ended, Natasha Barnes (Chicago, Ill.; Kenwood Academy) threw a full-court pass to Sydney Lewis (Upper Marlboro, Md.; McLean School) for an easy layup, 42-5.
Pearl River outscored Enterprise State 25-15 in the third quarter with Bell scoring eight of the first 12 points in the quarter. By the time the 10 minute period was up, Pearl River had a massive 72-20 advantage. The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Wildcats outscored ESCC 22-5 to walk away with a 94-25 win in the season opener.
BY THE NUMBERS
Bell had a career day in her first career game, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting. The freshman was 5-for-8 from the 3-point line. She also had five assists and four rebounds.
"When she finishes her two years here, we will wonder how we will replace her," Fletcher said. "She's a coach's dream. She brings it every night."
Sydney Lewis made the most of her Pearl River debut as well, finishing with a 14-point, 18-rebound double-double. Her 18 rebounds were the most in a game since Ty'Asia Willis did it in 2017 against Jones College.
"I was just really proud of Syd," Fletcher said. "She battled. She's got more minutes than anyone on our roster. She has a knack to get the ball."
Sanyla Smith and Jae'la Smith finished with 11 and 10 points respectively.
"The Smiths were really good tonight," Fletcher said. "They were so active. I am so proud of them."
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. against Andrew College.
TICKETS
Basketball season tickets are available now for $86, granting access to all home regular-season games. Single-game tickets are $8 in advance and $10 on the day of the game. Tickets can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.
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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
