Co-Lin routs Northwest in MACJC State Tournament opening round

SENATOBIA, Miss. – The Copiah-Lincoln Community College Lady Wolves scored 26 points off turnovers Tuesday night as they coasted to a 70-47 victory over Northwest Community College in the opening round of the MACJC State Tournament. A huge second quarter gave the Lady Wolves a 28-point lead going into the half, and Co-Lin never looked back. The win moves Co-Lin to 21-3 on the season, and drops the Lady Rangers to 13-10. The Lady Wolves are back in action tomorrow, Wednesday, February 28 at 5 p.m., as Co-Lin plays the No. 1 North Division seed Northeast Community College. Watch the game live at nwccrangers.com/watch or listen to the action live at WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven.

"We had some times where we missed some easy shots, but they struggled offensively and our defense was good…we had some hands on the ball and did a good job," said Co-Lin head coach Gwyn Young. "I was proud of some our shots especially with some of our players off the bench, and we did a good job controlling the boards…overall it was a really good win for us."

The Lady Wolves leapt out to an 8-1 lead midway through the first quarter, after utilizing free throws until Northwest finally made their first basket on a fast break layup with 5:33 left in the quarter. Both teams struggled getting their offenses flowing for most of the period and the Lady Wolves led 12-10 entering the second.

Northwest tied the game at 14 apiece early in the second, but the Lady Wolves went on a 22-0 run led by T'Kyra Hicks, Alexus Holt, Kyeonia Harris, and Destiny Hemphill as Co-Lin rained in three-pointers. The huge swing in momentum left the Lady Wolves with a 36-14 lead with 1:46 remaining in the half. Co-Lin held the Lady Rangers to a five and a half minute scoring drought during the run, and held them to just seven points the entire quarter. The Lady Wolves took a 38-17 lead into the locker room.

The Lady Wolves continued to dominate both ends of the floor in the third quarter as Co-Lin forced several turnovers, capitalized on fast breaks, and controlled the boards. The impressive play gave Co-Lin a 58-30 lead going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, the Lady Wolves continued to grow their lead, which got to a game high 33 points with 8:24 remaining in the game. The Lady Wolves were outscored 17 to 12 in the final period, but the large lead built throughout the game allowed Co-Lin to coast to victory.

The difference in the contest was the Lady Wolves 26 points scored off turnovers.

Holt led the Lady Wolves with 19 points, while Karry Callahan added 12. Callahan also hauled in a team high 14 rebounds for a double-double. Harris scored 10 for the Lady Wolves to round out the double digit scorers. Another notable stat was Holt's six steals.

Shelbi Buford led Northwest with 15 points after going 5-for-8 from three-point range. Abbreanna Miller added 11 for the Lady Rangers, and led the team with nine rebounds. Ciara Pettis posted seven assists.  

Co-Lin shot 31 percent (22-for-71) from the field, 35 percent (7-for-20) from the three-point line, and 76 percent (19-for-25) from the foul stripe. The Lady Rangers finished the night shooting 29 percent (18-for-63) from the field, 21 percent (7-for-34) from beyond the arc, and 57 percent (4-for-7) from the free throw line.

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