Explosive fourth quarter gives Lady Wolves the win

WESSON, Miss. – The Lady Wolves of Copiah-Lincoln Community College netted 28 points to East Central Community College's 10 in the fourth quarter Thursday night to secure an 86-67 win over the Lady Warriors. The win moves the Lady Wolves to 11-1 on the season and 1-1 in the MACJC South Division. East Central drops to 8-3 on the year and 1-2 in division play. The Lady Wolves are back in action Saturday, January 20^th at 1:00 p.m. as Co-Lin travels to Utica, Miss. to take on the Hinds Lady Bulldogs. Listen to the action live at colinathletics.com.

"I thought we were tougher on defense in the fourth quarter," said Co-Lin head coach Gwyn Young. "We were able to rebound and we scored some basked and attacked really well…Karry Callahan rebounded well and was big for us. We also had some big threes that got us going."

Action was slow on both ends of the floor early in the game as both offenses struggled. Midway through the first quarter Co-Lin led the Lady Warriors by just three, 6-3. The Lady Wolves found a little spark from Alexus Holt who made a three late in the quarter that started a 7-0 Co-Lin run. ECCC quickly responded as Tamirra Haskin rattled home back-to-back threes to cut Co-Lin's lead to 15-12.

In the second quarter saw huge momentum swings for both teams. The Lady Wolves prevented the Lady Warriors from scoring for the first three minutes of the quarter and took a 12-point, 24-12 lead. Once again East Central bounced back. The Lady Warriors battled back and took a one-point, 34-33 lead with less than a minute to play in the half. Co-Lin's Brittany Rose hit a three on the Lady Wolves last possession of the half to give Co-Lin a 36-34 lead at the halfway point.

The third quarter was back-and-forth as Co-Lin pulled away to a five-point leadon several occasions, but the Lady Warriors always stuck around. In the fourth Co-Lin's offense came to life with a 17-3 run that lasted five and a half minutes. The quick turn of events was the result of solid defensive play, and the Lady Wolves capitalizing on possessions on the other end of the floor. After the hot start to the quarter, the Lady Wolves ran away with the game and coasted to the 86-67 win.

Alexus Holt, a sophomore from Epps, La., led the Lady Wolves with 20 points. The shifty point guard also had six steals on the night. Karry Callahan, a sophomore from Vicksburg, Miss. posted a season high 19 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists. The double-double is Callahan's third of the season. Brittany Rose came off the bench and scored 19 for the Lady Wolves and hauled in seven rebounds. Diamond Smith posted eight points and eight rebounds, while Kyonina Harris scored nine and dished five assists.

Haskin and Diamond Wraggs led East Central with 16 points each, while Sharan Turner Taylor led the Lady Warriors on the boards with eight rebounds.

Co-Lin shot 43 percent (31-for-72) from the field, 29 percent (7-for-24) from the three-point line, and 71 percent (17-for-24) from the foul stripe. The Lady Warriors finished the night shooting 37 percent (23-for-63) from the field, 40 percent (8-for-20) from beyond the arc, and 62 percent (13-for-21) from the free throw line.

"Every game is important," said Young. "The MACJC South Division is really good this year, so we have to be ready to play every game. Hinds is talented, and we are going to have bring our A-game."

The Lady Wolves take on the Hinds Lady Bulldogs Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. tipoff. Listen to the game at colinathletics.com and follow @colinathletics on Twitter for updates.