| Lady Lions hold on for 68-64 win at Northeast; EMCC men fall, 60-58, to the Tigers |
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 Martika Hull (left) had 20 points and nine rebounds Monday night to help lead the 13-4 Lady Lions to a 68-64 win at Northeast Mississippi. Woodie Howard notched his fourth double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds in EMCC’s 60-58 road loss to the Tigers. Improving to 13-4 overall and 5-1 in the North Division with the four-point divisional road win, coach Sharon Thompson's Lady Lions have already posted the most wins by an EMCC women’s basketball team in 10 seasons. In addition, the Lady Lions have now won nine of their last 11 decisions on the year. Trailing 32-28 at the intermission after shooting just 35 percent from the field in the opening half, EMCC grabbed the lead for good midway through the second stanza after the two teams combined for seven lead changes and three ties through the first 11 minutes of the closing period. After back-to-back baskets by substitute Brittani Jones knotted the score at 54-54 with eight minutes remaining, freshman Martika Hull gave the visitors a five-point lead (59-54) with consecutive scores of her own. Northeast managed to close the gap to a single point two times over the final 5:30, but costly turnovers by the home team and timely EMCC free throws down the stretch resulted in the four-point outcome. The EMCC women benefitted from 16 offensive rebounds and 19 steals, while the Lady Tigers were hampered by 34 turnovers, including 20 miscues in the second half. Hull tallied a game-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added a team-high nine rebounds for the winners. The former Southeast Lauderdale High School standout recorded her third 20-point effort of the season and has now reached double figures in eight of her last nine outings. Sophomore Angelique Burtts, a Georgia State signee, added 16 points and eight boards. The Lady Tigers, now 7-10 overall and 2-4 in divisional play, were led by Miranda Phillips with 14 points, followed by Ranisha Williams and Eboni Crayton with a dozen points apiece. East Mississippi could not pull off the road sweep, as coach Mark White's Lions dropped a two-point road decision to the Tigers. Northeast's John Sexton hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to give the Tigers the victory. The EMCC men fall to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in North Division play in dropping their second straight divisional contest. Down 36-29 at the half, the Lions battled back in the second half despite shooting only 36 percent from the field for the game. The visitors managed to finally overcome their deficit after sophomore Woodie Howard hit 3-of-4 free throws on successive possessions to give EMCC a 58-56 lead with 2:23 remaining. After the two teams traded empty possessions within the final minute of play, Sexton hit his game-winning trey with 10 seconds left. The Lions had two more opportunities over the final seconds to reclaim the lead and come away with the win, but a turnover followed Sexton’s 3-pointer and a desperation court-length shot at the buzzer was off target after a missed one-and-one opportunity for Northeast. Howard, a Starkville High School product, notched his fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 13 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors. Freshman Rob Elam followed with 11 points, while Starkville’s Coco Ware was limited to nine points – his lowest point total since the third game of the season. The nation’s 17th-leading scorer - at 20.7 points per game entering the contest - had a string of 13 consecutive double figure-scoring games snapped in Monday’s contest. Led by William Burdette’s game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, the Tigers improved to 10-9 overall and 2-4 in divisional play. Sexton finished with 16 points, including 4-of-7 three-point shooting, in addition to adding six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals for the winners. The EMCC basketball teams next travel to Senatobia to take on Northwest Mississippi in a Thursday doubleheader. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 January 2009 ) |
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