.jpg "Image") Preseason third-team NJCAA All-American Nathan Peden went 3-for-4, including two doubles and his fourth home run of the year, to help lead the Lions to a home doubleheader sweep (9-2 and 11-5) over North Division foe Coahoma Saturday afternoon on the Scooba campus.
Though managing to bang out a dozen total hits - six each game - during the twin bill, East Mississippi also took advantage of 15 bases on balls and three hit batsmen surrendered by the Coahoma pitching staff. Individually, preseason third-team NJCAA All-American Nathan Peden led EMCC’s hitters on the day going 3-for-4 with four runs scored and four runs batted in, including a double in each game and a home run in the nightcap.
A former standout at Northeast Lauderdale, Peden got things going in the opener with an RBI double in the first inning. After the Lions plated a pair of runs in the second and another in the third, they benefitted from six Coahoma walks and a hit batsman to push across four more runs in the fourth inning. Another EMCC tally in the sixth and a pair of Coahoma runs in the top of the seventh made it a 9-2 final.
Freshman starter Tyler Richardson of West Lauderdale improved his record to 2-4 on the year by allowing three hits in 2 2/3 scoreless innings of work. Freshman Cody Pounders and sophomore Drake Gregory, both of New Hope, worked the final 4 1/3 innings of hitless baseball for East Mississippi.
In the nightcap with the visiting Tigers leading, 4-3, Peden smacked his team-leading fourth home run of the season – a two-run clout – and freshman Brandon Kiewel had a two-out, two-run single to account for a four-run third inning and give EMCC a 7-4 lead. Highlighted by Billy Beard’s two-run single, the Lions plated four more runs in the sixth inning to close out the 11-5 final.
Freshman left-hander Derek Beach of Heidelberg scattered eight hits, while striking out three and giving up two walks, over six innings to move to 2-1 on the season. Gregory retired Coahoma in order in the seventh to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Now 6-23 overall and 2-4 in North Division play after snapping their 10-game losing skid with Saturday’s pair of wins over Coahoma, head coach Tony Montgomery’s Lions stay at home to play host to divisional rival Itawamba Tuesday afternoon in a twin bill beginning at 1 p.m. at EMCC’s Gerald Poole Field.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 22 March 2009 )
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 Coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions ended their successful 2008-09 campaign with an impressive 25-7 record after dropping a 70-62 decision to Trinity Valley in Friday’s consolation action of the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship played at the Salina Bicentennial Center in Kansas.
Closing out the season with a 25-7 record, head coach Sharon Thompson’s 24th-ranked Lady Lions used a 12-3 run over the final 4:30 of the opening half to turn a seven-point deficit into a 27-25 halftime advantage. EMCC hit six of its first seven shot attempts after the break to mount a nine-point lead (40-31) by the 16:42 mark of the second stanza. With All-Region 23 performer Angelique Burtts scoring eight of her 17 second-half points in a minute’s span, the Lady Lions managed to stretch the lead to a dozen points (54-42) by the midway point of the half.
Sparked by the return of first-team All-American Jasmine Nelson, who was saddled with foul trouble in the first half as well as early in the second period, Trinity Valley then began to click on both ends of the floor. After Shareese Ulis and DeShawna Banks connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, the 6-foot-2 Nelson was free to operate more effectively in the post. The New Orleans native responded with a dozen second-half points and also made her defensive presence felt with six blocked shots in the closing period.
With Nelson, Ulis and Banks combining for 40 second-half points between them, the Lady Cardinals of Athens, Texas used a 21-4 run to secure a 63-58 lead by the 3:42 mark. Following Burtts’ driving score to make it a 63-60 game with 3:27 left, East Mississippi would not get another shot attempt to reach the rim until Burtts’ put-back basket at the end of the contest. EMCC had two shots blocked in addition to committing three turnovers down the stretch, as the Lady Lions could manage but four points over the final seven minutes.
In raising its season’s record to 27-8, 23rd-ranked Trinity Valley shot 58 percent from the field (14-of-24 FGs) in the second half, including 5-of-9 (56%) from three-point range, while also connecting on 12-of-15 (80%) from the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes of play. Ulis and Nelson led the way for the ninth-seeded Cardinals with 21 and 20 points, respectively, for the game, while Banks added 18 points. Nelson hit 7-of-9 field goals and 6-of-10 free throws on the day, along with disrupting EMCC’s offense with seven blocks.
Champions of the MACJC’s North Division and Region 23, the Lady Lions owned a 40-27 rebounding advantage in the elimination contest, but were slowed by 24 turnovers. Burtts, who will continue her collegiate career at Georgia State, paced East Mississippi with 24 points and 11 rebounds to register her 10th double-double of the season and fifth in eight postseason tournament outings. Columbus’ Jasmine Abrams and Martika Hull of Southeast Lauderdale also approached double-doubles for EMCC with 11 points each, along with adding nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 March 2009 )
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.jpg "Image") Jasmine Abrams’ 19 rebounds and eight second-half points keyed the Lady Lions to a 64-60 victory over Sheridan College in Thursday’s consolation action of the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship being played in Salina, Kan.
Head coach Sharon Thompson’s 25-6 Lady Lions move on to face No. 23 Trinity Valley Community College of Athens, Texas in Friday’s consolation bracket at 2 p.m. Seeded ninth in this week’s tournament in Kansas, the 26-8 Lady Cardinals earned their 14th trip to the national tournament as 2008-09 champions of Region 14.
Trailing by six points (34-28) at the intermission to Sheridan, the 24th-ranked Lady Lions found themselves down, 53-45, with eight minutes remaining following a Kendahl Avery 3-pointer. Appearing somewhat fatigued with only seven players seeing action in the contest, the Wyoming-based Lady Generals seemed to gradually succumb to EMCC’s physicality and athleticism down the stretch. A put-back basket by Columbus’ Jasmine Abrams – her first points of the game – keyed a 9-1 spurt that was energized by East Mississippi’s offensive rebounding and full-court pressure.
After missing her first eight shot attempts of the game, on top of Wednesday’s 2-of-13 shooting effort in EMCC’s 63-49 first-round loss to undefeated Walters State, Abrams converted on back-to-back inside baskets on feeds from Angelique Burtts and Sanitra Bush to knot the score at 54-54 with 5:33 left in the elimination contest. Sheridan briefly reclaimed the lead, 56-54, after Tahnee Robinson followed her own missed shot.
With eight second-half steals, the Lady Lions continued to turn up the defensive heat and benefitted from consecutive steals to move ahead by three points (59-56) with just over four minutes remaining. After Robinson knocked down her 14th and 15th free throws of the contest to cut the deficit to a single point, Abrams grabbed Kottia White’s miss and pushed the lead back up to three points (61-58). However, SC’s Mandy Mullock answered with a score to make it a 61-60 contest with 3:26 on the clock.
Following empty possessions from both teams, Burtts found freshman Martika Hull underneath to put the Lady Lions back up by three points (63-60). After scoring 20 first-half points on 5-of-11 from the field and 9-of-9 from the line, Sheridan’s Robinson was the only Lady General player to attempt a shot over the final three minutes. However, the nation’s top NJCAA Division I scorer at 29 points per game misfired on her last five tries from the field, including a pair of potential game-tying 3-pointers over the final minute.
With the 12th-seeded Lady Lions still clinging to a 63-60 advantage, Burtts was fouled with 29.2 seconds on the clock and went to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity. The All-Region 23 performer failed to make it a two-possession game by missing the front end. Held to 1-of-11 second-half shooting, Robinson missed on another potential game-tying trey for the 13th-seeded Lady Generals. Burtts, who played just 19 minutes in the contest because of foul trouble, sealed EMCC’s four-point consolation victory by converting on the front end of another 1-and-1 effort with just 7.5 ticks left.
Shooting 44 percent from the field in the second half and limiting Sheridan to just 32-percent shooting after halftime, East Mississippi was led by Hull’s 20 points on 8-of-13 field-goal accuracy. The former Southeast Lauderdale standout also collected nine rebounds. Burtts and the starting backcourt tandem of White and Javitia Eades each contributed nine points apiece to the winning effort, while Abrams hit her last four shot attempts to tally eight points to go along with her game-high 19 rebounds. Just five boards away from the NJCAA tournament record of 24 rebounds set by Gulf Coast’s Sherika Chinn in 1998, 12 of Abrams’ 19 caroms were of the offensive variety.
Ending their season at 26-10, the Lady Generals were led by Robinson’s game-best 28 points, though only eight of those points came after halftime. Kori Bingham added 10 points for Sheridan.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 March 2009 )
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_web.jpg "Image") All-Region 23 forward Angelique Burtts posted her ninth double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 rebounds on her 21st birthday, but the 24th-ranked Lady Lions dropped a 63-49 decision to unbeaten Walters State in the opening round of this week’s NJCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament being played in Salina, Kan. (Photo courtesy of Erin Miles of Miles Photography)
Making their first national tournament appearance since 1978, head coach Sharon Thompson’s 12th-seeded EMCC club saw a 10-point, first-half lead evaporate over the final three minutes of the opening period. All-Region 23 sophomore forward Angelique Burtts scored on a driving basket to put East Mississippi on top, 27-17, with less than three minutes left in the half. However, a three-point play by WSCC’s Patrice Talley ignited a 9-1 run by the Lady Senators that cut the deficit to two points (28-26) by the intermission.
Entering the tournament outscoring the opposition by an average margin of +24.5 points per game on the year, third-ranked Walters State established control of the contest by scoring the first 15 points of the second stanza. This game-changing 24-1 run that began during the final minutes of the first half would put the Lady Lions on their heels for the remainder of the contest. With East Mississippi missing its first seven shots of the half and committing seven turnovers during that span, EMCC finally got back on the scoreboard when Starkville’s Sanitra Bush ended the drought with a basket at the 12:19 mark. Following a 3-pointer by WSCC’s LaKrystle Goss a minute later, the Lady Senators’ double-digit lead was never seriously challenged the rest of the game.
The Lady Lions did manage to pull to within seven points (48-41) with seven minutes remaining, but consecutive scores by Talley and Melanie Hemphill pushed Walters State’s margin back up to double figures for good. In raising their unblemished record to 31-0 on the season, 26 of the Lady Senators’ 31 wins in 2008-09 have come by 10 points or more.
Falling to 24-6 on the year, the Lady Lions were again led by Burtts, who registered her ninth double-double of the season and fourth in the last five games with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds on her 21st birthday. Southeast Lauderdale’s Martika Hull and Javitia Eades of Kemper County added nine and eight points, respectively, for EMCC.
Walters State’s Shy Marsh paced all scorers with 16 points, while Talley and Goss followed with 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the winners. As a team, the Lady Senators shot 53 percent (16-of-30 FGs) from the field in the second half, along with being credited with just six second-half turnovers after totaling 15 miscues through the opening 20 minutes of play.
Now competing in the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament, East Mississippi takes on Sheridan College out of Wyoming Thursday at 2 p.m. in an elimination contest. The 26-9 Lady Generals, who fell to fourth-seeded Chipola College (Fla.) in Wednesday’s opening round, earned a ticket to their first NJCAA tournament since 1999 by upsetting eighth-ranked Northeastern Junior College in the championship game of the Region 9 Tournament. Guided by eighth-year head coach Frank McCarthy, Sheridan is paced by sophomore Tahnee Robinson, who entered this week’s tournament as the season’s leading scorer in NJCAA Division I women’s basketball at 29.4 points per outing.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 March 2009 )
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.jpg "Image") Lady Lion basketball coach Sharon Thompson accepts her 2008-09 NJCAA Division I District O Coach of the Year award from a member of the Saline County ARC Blue Thunder Special Olympics Team during Tuesday’s opening ceremonies of the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship held at the Saline Bicentennial Center.
In her fourth season at the helm of the Lady Lion basketball program, Thompson has guided this year’s EMCC team to a 24-5 overall record, including the MACJC’s North Division championship with an 11-1 division mark. Ranked 24th nationally in the final regular-season NJCAA Division I poll, the Lady Lions enter Wednesday’s opening-round tournament contest against undefeated Walters State having won 14 of their last 15 decisions.
Making their first national tournament appearance since finishing 31-1 as NJCAA tournament runners-up to Panola (Texas) Junior College in 1978, the 12th-seeded EMCC Lady Lions earned this year’s invitation to Kansas by claiming the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament title in Clinton with wins over Northwest Mississippi, state champion Jones County and ninth-ranked Copiah-Lincoln. East Mississippi also advanced to the semifinals of this year’s MACJC State Tournament in Ellisville before falling to eventual state champion and host Jones County.
This week’s NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship will be played at the 7,000-seat Salina Bicentennial Center using a false double-elimination format. With a win over fifth-seeded Walters State during Wednesday’s first-round action, EMCC will advance to take on the winner of the Chipola (Fla.)-Sheridan (Wyo.) contest Thursday at 8 p.m. An EMCC setback on Wednesday would pit the Lady Lions against the loser of the Chipola-Sheridan game to be played Thursday at 2 p.m.
Basketball fans will be able to listen to audio-streamed radio broadcasts of every game during this week’s NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship via the Internet by visiting http://www.ksal.com. Fans logging onto http://www.cybersportsusa.com will be able to access up-to-date statistics continuously throughout every game of this week’s tournament. In addition, fans will be able to access and download updated tournament brackets during the week at http://www.bicentennial.org.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 March 2009 )
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