 Jasmine Abrams (left) recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds Monday against East Central, while Woodie Howard tallied a season-high 17 points in EMCC’s 86-55 home win over the Warriors.
In Monday’s opener, coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions couldn’t find an answer for sophomore guard Mystee Dale in the opening 20 minutes of action. The former Choctaw Central standout pumped in 19 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting to stake the reigning Region 23 champions to a 29-17 halftime advantage. The visiting Lady Warriors, now 4-2 on the season, shot 48 percent from the field in the opening half, while limiting EMCC to just 29 percent first-half shooting.
ECCC’s Dale set the tone in the second stanza as well by hitting one of her four 3-pointers to begin the second-half scoring. The visitors extended their lead to as many as 19 points (42-23) midway through the closing period on the way to cruising to the 11-point road victory. The Lady Lions, now 4-1 on the year, had opened the current campaign with four consecutive wins, including a 62-60 road triumph over preseason 13th-ranked East Central on Nov. 6 in Decatur.
Dale, who led all scorers with 22 points in the year’s previous meeting, finished with a game-high 27 points Monday night in Scooba on 10-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-6 accuracy from beyond the three-point arc. Rashima Jenkins and Alisha McAfee followed with eight points apiece for the winners. Sophomores Jasmine Abrams of Columbus and Kottia White of Jackson led the Lady Lions with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Abrams posted a double-double for EMCC by adding a dozen rebounds.
In the nightcap, coach Mark White’s 2-3 Lions averaged their earlier 73-63 road setback to East Central by controlling the rematch from start to finish. Never trailing in the contest, EMCC went up by a 9-2 score four minutes into the contest on the way to maintaining a 36-19 halftime lead. The Lions basically put the game away during the opening four minutes of the second stanza. A three-point play by freshman Rob Elam capped a 12-0 EMCC run to open the second half and give the home team a comfortable 48-19 advantage by the 16:40 mark.
Shooting a sizzling 72 percent (18-of-25) from the field in the second half, the EMCC men increased their insurmountable cushion to as many as 34 points (60-26) by the 11:40 mark en route to the impressive 31-point final margin. For the contest, the Lions shot 64 percent from the field on 34-of-53 accuracy, while holding the visiting Warriors to just 37 percent (19-of-51) field-goal shooting on the night.
Coming off a season-high, 29-point performance last Thursday against Pearl River, freshman guard Coco Ware of Starkville paced a quartet of double-digit EMCC scorers with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Fellow Starkville native Woodie Howard followed with 17 points on 8-of-11 field goals, while Darian Donald of Columbus and Starkville’s John Harris added 13 and 10 points, respectively, to the winning effort.
The East Mississippi basketball teams return to road action Thursday night (Nov. 13) by taking on Copiah-Lincoln. Tip-off times are set for 6 and 8 p.m. in Wesson.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 November 2008 )
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.jpg "Image") Freshman guard Coco Ware of Starkville drilled seven 3-pointers en route to scoring a game-high 29 points for the Lions against Pearl River Thursday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
After winning their first three games of the season by a combined seven points, coach Sharon Thompson’s 4-0 Lady Lions had this one in hand virtually from the opening tip-off. Relentless defensive pressure and command of the offensive boards helped give the EMCC women a 42-15 halftime advantage. That margin ballooned to 43 points (63-20) by the 7:34 mark of the second half before PRCC outscored East Mississippi’s second unit, 21-2, over a four-minute span to cut the deficit to 24 points (65-41) with 3:29 remaining. The Lady Lions would gain their composure and cruise to the 28-point home victory.
“I was pleased that we played the way we wanted to play for the most part, maybe with the exception of that span late in the game,” Thompson said. “It was nice not having to sweat out a game right up until the very end. Plus, we were able to give some other players some well-deserved minutes out there tonight.”
With all but one of the team’s dozen players getting into the scoring column against Pearl River, freshman Martika Hull of Meridian led the Lady Lions with 12 points. Sophomores Angelique Burtts and Sanitra Bush followed with 10 points each. For the game, EMCC connected on 28-of-55 (51%) from the field, while limiting PRCC to just 17-of-52 (33%) field-goal shooting.
In the nightcap, coach Mark White’s Lions built as much as an 11-point lead (26-15) midway through the opening half with the help of a half-dozen 3-pointers by the 10:20 mark. However, EMCC became reliant on the outside shot the rest of the half and was outscored, 17-5, over the final 10 minutes of the half to trail by one point (32-31) at the intermission.
After getting down by as many as 11 points (54-43) early in the second half, the Lions capped a 14-5 run with a three-point play by Woodie Howard to knot the score at 70-70 with five minutes left. However, EMCC could never reclaim the lead and eventually had to resort to shooting the 3-pointer and fouling Pearl River to have a chance in the end. With the home team down by four points (80-76) with eight seconds left after two made free throws by PRCC’s Randy Perkins, Lion freshman guard Coco Ware of Starkville nailed his seventh trey of the contest to make it a one-point game. Following two more made charity tosses by Perkins with three seconds left, EMCC was able to find Ware on the right wing with two crisp passes starting from under their own basket for a potential game-tying trey attempt. However, Ware’s heroics were not to be, as the 1-3 Lions dropped their third decision in four outings by 10 points or less.
“Once again, we were right there at the end,” White noted. “The kids are giving it everything they’ve got, but the breaks just haven’t gone our way to begin the season. We’ll get right back in the gym to get ready for East Central Monday night in another big home game for us.”
Ware, a product of Starkville High School, netted a game-high 29 points on the strength of seven made 3-pointers. Columbus’ Darian Donald and Johnathon Harris of Starkville followed with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Donta Smith, a preseason NJCAA All-American Second Team selection for the Wildcats, recorded a double-double with 23 points (8-10 FGs & 7-11 FTs) and 13 rebounds. With five players scoring in double figures, Timothy Ware and Rod Little followed with 16 and 11 points, respectively, for the winners.
As a team, the Wildcats were able to outscore EMCC by 14 points from the charity stripe along with attempting 21 more free throws than the home team. Pearl River connected on 54 percent of their shot attempts for the game, though the Lions finished with 11 made three-point baskets.
East Mississippi will stay at home to play host to East Central Monday night in Scooba. A 5:30 p.m. women’s game will be followed by the men’s contest at 7:30 p.m. at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. Just last week in Decatur, the Lady Lions knocked off the 13th-ranked and defending Region 23 champion Lady Warriors, 62-60, while the Lions dropped a 73-63 decision to ECCC in the nightcap.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 14 November 2008 )
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 Guided by head coaches Mark White and Sharon Thompson, the EMCC basketball teams tip off their 2008-09 home slate by playing host to Pearl River Thursday at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
Coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions have jumped out to a fast 3-0 start on the young season with all three wins having come on the road by a collective total of just seven points. After claiming two-point road triumphs over Jones County (78-76) and preseason 13th-ranked East Central (62-60), the EMCC women most recently posted a 65-62 win over Hinds in Utica this past Monday.
“For the second straight game, we didn’t play well but managed to win on the road in a close contest,” Thompson noted after Monday’s victory over Hinds. “I’m optimistic about the fact that we continue to find ways to win on the road despite not playing the way we are capable of playing.”
Through the first week of the new campaign, the Lady Lions have been led by a pair of newcomers – sophomore transfer Angelique Burtts and former Southeast Lauderdale standout Martika Hull. A 5-foot-11 transfer forward from Middle Tennessee State by way of Conyers, Ga., Burtts is averaging a team-best 17.3 points per game, including a pair of 20-point efforts already this season. After scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting against Jones County in her EMCC debut, Burtts most recently tallied 25 points on 9-of-13 field goals in the team’s three-point win over Hinds.
Having helped paced coach Joe Miller’s Lady Tigers to the Class 3A state championship this past spring at Meridian’s Southeast Lauderdale High School, Hull has thus far made the smooth transition to the next level by having averaged 15 points through the first three games. Following a near-double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds in her collegiate debut at Jones County, the 5-foot-11 forward came right back in her next outing to record a double-double with 19 points on 9-of-13 field goals and 11 boards against the defending Region 23 champion East Central Lady Warriors.
Coach Mark White’s 1-2 Lions have also started the new season with three close contests. After falling on the road to Jones County (90-86) and East Central (73-63), East Mississippi most recently broke into the win column by posting a 72-68 victory over Hinds Monday night in Utica. Sophomore point guard Cataurius Taylor led a trio of double-digit Lion scorers with 19 points against Hinds.
Leading the way in the scoring column for the EMCC men has been sophomore forward Darian Donald, who is averaging team highs of 15 points and 6.7 rebounds through the first week of the season. The former standout at Columbus’ Caledonia High School opened the campaign with back-to-back, career-high scoring efforts of 18 and 19 points, respectively, against Jones County and East Central. Sophomore wing player Larry Foster, a transfer from Wallace State-Hanceville, is putting up an average of 12.7 points an outing, including 16 points in his EMCC debut in the opener at JCJC. Also scoring in double figures thus far on the year are Starkville’s Woodie Howard (10.7 ppg) and Taylor (10.3).
“It’s always good to get that first win in hand, especially after beginning the season with three tough road games,” White said. “I know our kids are ready to finally play in front of a home crowd. Hopefully we will have a good crowd Thursday night to begin the home schedule because our teams are playing very hard right now and they deserve the support of our fans.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 November 2008 )
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 The EMCC men’s golf team concluded a successful fall campaign with a second-place team finish in the ECCC Fall Invitational held at the Pearl River Resort in Choctaw.
Carding a two-day total of 615 (308-307) at the 6,538-yard, par-72 Azaleas course at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, coach Dale Peay’s Lions finished 16 strokes behind team champion Copiah-Lincoln (293-306--599). As a team, EMCC finished ahead of Meridian Community College (619) by four strokes, as well as besting Hinds (625), Northeast Mississippi (630) and East Central (671) in the six-team event hosted by East Central Community College.
“I was very proud of our freshmen this week. It was a good finish to a very successful fall campaign for us as a team,” Peay noted.
EMCC freshman James Winter, a former standout at Northwest Rankin, tied for runner-up honors individually with Co-Lin’s Chad Vivien with a two-day score of 147. Edging out the tandem for individual medalist honors was Co-Lin’s Derin Petite, who followed an opening-day 75 with a 1-under-par 71 for his 146 total. Winter also fired a 1-under-par 71 Tuesday to go along with his Monday total of 4-over-par 76.
East Mississippi’s Michael Lauseng, a freshman from Bossier City, La., finished fifth individually with a score of 151 (74-77). Calhoun City’s Will Black tied for 19th place with a 159 (76-83), while fellow freshmen Garrett Alford (82-82) of Northwest Rankin and Trey Adams (87-77) of Belmont tied for 25th place with scores of 164.
“Our freshmen benefitted greatly from some very valuable playing experience this fall,” Peay added. “I am looking forward to watching all of them continue their development academically as well as on the golf course during the upcoming spring season.”
During the team’s four fall matches, the Lions claimed top team honors at their own EMCC Fall Invitational held at Highlands Plantation near Starkville as well as during a three-team scrimmage played at the Dogwood Golf Club in Grenada. Along with this week’s runner-up team finish at the ECCC Fall Invitational, East Mississippi opened the fall campaign with a third-place showing at the Mississippi College Invitational held at the Patrick Farms Golf Course in Jackson.
With EMCC’s freshman quintet competing in five fall golf events, including the school’s second annual World Class Fall Golf Tour, Black came out on top of East Mississippi’s leader board with a team-best 75.6 composite stroke average during match play and practice rounds. One stroke behind were Alford and Winter at 76.6 and 76.8, respectively, followed by Lauseng (77.7) and Adams (78.2).
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 November 2008 )
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 Sophomores Angelique Burtts (left) and Cataurius Taylor scored 25 and 20 points, respectively, to help lead East Mississippi to a basketball doubleheader sweep over Hinds Monday night in Utica.
Coach Sharon Thompson’s 3-0 Lady Lions have earned their first three victories of the season – all on the road – by a collective total of only seven points. EMCC opened the campaign last week with two-point road wins over Jones County and East Central. Monday night in Utica, the Lady Lions overcame a 22-9 first-half deficit by maintaining their defensive pressure and hitting 16-of-22 free throws on the night.
“For the second straight game, we didn’t play well but managed to win on the road in a close contest,” Thompson noted. “I’m optimistic about the fact that we continue to find ways to win on the road despite not playing the way we are capable of playing.”
Middle Tennessee State transfer Angelique Burtts led EMCC with a season-high 25 points against Hinds - her second 20-point outing in three games this season. Starkville’s Sanitra Bush and Martika Hull of Meridian followed with eight points each in the winning effort. After beginning the season with 29 and 35 points in her first two outings, Hinds sophomore guard Delissa Scott was held to just 16 points, including but five points in the second half, by the Lady Lions.
Following close road losses to Jones County and East Central to begin the year, coach Mark White’s Lions went up by as many as 13 points in the second half after owning a 39-30 halftime advantage against Hinds before holding on for their first triumph of the new campaign. Sophomore point guard Cataurius Taylor led all EMCC scorers with 20 points, followed by Larry Foster and Starkville’s Johnathon Harris with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
“It’s always good to get that first win in hand, especially after beginning the season with three tough road games,” White said. “I thought we defended well tonight, though I’m somewhat concerned with our inability to finish out another game. We just stopped scoring out there tonight in the second half and couldn’t execute offensively.”
After three straight road games to start the season, East Mississippi opens its home basketball slate Thursday by playing host to Pearl River. Game times are set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 November 2008 )
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