| East Mississippi earns North Division home hoops split with Holmes |
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.jpg "Image") Sophomore forward Angelique Burtts tallied 25 of her season-high 27 points in the second half Thursday night to help lead the 12-4 Lady Lions to a 73-65 home victory over Holmes. The Georgia State signee added 11 rebounds to register her fourth double-double in the last seven contests. With leading scorer Angelique Burtts saddled with two early first-half fouls, coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions trailed, 33-26, at the intermission. Ignited by Burtts’ return to the floor in the second stanza, the EMCC women knotted the contest at 43-43 by the 13:38 mark on Burtts’ put-back basket. The Georgia State signee later put the home team on top (51-49) for the first time since early in the contest with a break-away layup midway through the closing period. After the visiting Lady Bulldogs reclaimed the lead (58-57) with 5:17 remaining, the Lady Lions scored 10 unanswered points over a critical three-minute stretch to pull away for the eight-point win and improve their overall record to 12-4 and 4-1 in North Division play. Burtts exploded for 25 second-half points after scoring but two first-half points in limited action because of her early foul trouble. Along with her season-high 27 points, the Conyers, Ga., native added a game-most 11 rebounds to register her fourth double-double in the last seven contests. Sophomore point guard Kottia White from Jackson Murrah added 13 points, five steals and four assists, while former Southeast Lauderdale star Martika Hull also reached double digits with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs fell to 6-7 overall and 2-3 in North Division play with the setback. Sophomore forward Kimberly Anderson led all scorers with a game-high 31 points for Holmes. In the nightcap, coach Mark White’s Lions battled back from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to take a brief 60-59 lead at the 7:40 mark. Sophomore Cataurius Taylor’s floater in the lane capped a 10-2 EMCC run that also included back-to-back 3-pointers by Darian Donald of Caledonia High School. With the Lions trailing by one point (65-64) two minutes later, Holmes’ Jeremy Lightfoot scored consecutive baskets to spark a game-deciding 11-0 run by the visitors. Falling to 10-6 overall and 3-2 in North Division play, the Lions were led by freshman Coco Ware of Starkville with 19 points and four steals. The nation’s 16th-leading scorer tallied 13 of EMCC’s first 15 points of the contest, but misfired on his last six field-goal attempts of the opening half. Entering the game averaging 20.8 points per contest, Ware’s six second-half points all came on two-point attempts, as the former Starkville High School standout failed to connect on all four of his three-point tries in the closing period. Donald followed with 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Taylor and freshman Terence Bennett of Jackson’s Forest Hill High School added 13 and 10 points, respectively. James Archie and Kendrick Black led a quartet of double-digit Holmes scorers with 15 points apiece. The Bulldogs improved to 12-5 overall and 3-2 against North Division competition. The EMCC basketball teams return to action Monday (Jan. 26) by traveling to Northeast Mississippi and then onto Northwest Mississippi Thursday (Jan. 29) for North Division doubleheaders away from home. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 23 January 2009 ) |
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