POPLARVILLE, Miss. — No. 14 Pearl River women's basketball's time at the top of the MACCC isn't over yet.

Thursday night, the Wildcats trounced visiting Northeast 80-46 inside Marvin R. White Coliseum to successfully defend their MACCC title. It marked the first time in program history to win back-to-back conference titles. 

"Every team, every player and every coach dreams of these moments," head coach Scotty Fletcher said. "I'm so honored to be the coach here. These girls and my staff deserve all the credit. I haven't scored a bucket or grabbed a rebound. 

"This team bought into the vision and shared the vision. We've won three of the last four, and all those championships are special — but this team is special. They love one another, and they root for each other. Every one of the girls bought into what we're doing."

Pearl River has now earned home-court advantage throughout the postseason. PRCC will host the Region 23 Quarterfinal on March 10 against an opponent to be determined. The semifinal and final will be played March 14-15 inside Marvin R. White Coliseum. 

Pearl River (24-2 overall; 13-1 MACCC) came out of the gate a bit slow against Northeast (16-12; 8-5) as the Tigers took a quick 4-0 lead. With about four minutes left in the first quarter, Pearl River caught fire with higher stakes than ever.

Ahead by a point, 10-9, PRCC rattled off a 16-1 run to extend its advantage to 26-10. The reigning MACCC Player of the Week, Natasha Barnes (Chicago, Ill.; Kenwood Academy), drilled her first 3-pointer of the night from the corner. Paris Gilmore (Youngstown, Ohio; Warrensville Heights) was aggressive on the defense end to create PRCC's next points, stealing the ball away and going down the court for a layup. Mikayla Riley (Tupelo) tacked on PRCC's next five points to set the PRCC advantage at 20-9. NEMCC broke up the run with a point before Jazmine Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.; Andrew Jackson) and Peyton Hearvey (Tupelo) hit a pair of 3-pointers to end the frame, 26-10.

The teams essentially traded points in the second quarter, with Pearl River outscoring Northeast 15-13. The Tigers were outscoring PRCC in the frame until the final shot of the quarter. Pearl River dished the ball off to Riley. The sophomore used a quick jab-step and drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Wildcats to the break ahead 41-23.

The third quarter was dead-even for the teams, scoring 19 points apiece. PRCC took an 18-point lead as it headed to the final quarter of the night. Sanyla Smith (Tupelo) showed some hustle, hawking down a loose ball and driving inside for a layup, 60-42.

Pearl River's fourth quarter was its most dominant of the night. The Wildcats were electric on the defensive end, allowing just four points in the frame. They were just as great offensively, rattling off 20 points. During the frame, Barnes, Jackson and Riley each hit from beyond the arc, and Pearl River secured an 80-46 victory.

LEADING THE WAY
Riley finished with a game-high 18 points, going 3-for-5 on 3-pointers. She hauled in seven rebounds. Barnes backed up her MACCC Player of the Week selection by scoring 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting from deep. She added five assists and two steals.

Jackson wrapped up the night with 14 points, three assists and two steals. Gilmore was the fourth and final Wildcat in double figures with 13 points. She also had four steals, three rebounds and two assists.

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