Lady Wolves Win Overtime Thriller in Home Opener

WESSON – The Co-Lin Women's Basketball team hosted South Arkansas for their 2023-24 regular season home opener on Tuesday, November 7. The Lady Wolves won a thrilling contest against the Lady Stars, 93-88, in overtime.

"Our team was relentless during this game," stated Co-Lin head coach Dr. Britta Stephens. "Every time we needed a big play, they never panicked; they stepped up, competed, and did what it took to get a win."

The Lady Wolves jumped out to a big lead over the opening minutes with the score standing at 12-2 with under seven minutes to play in the first quarter. The Lady Stars responded with a 12-2 scoring run of their own to tie the game at 14-14 with three and a half to play in the quarter. The Lady Stars then closed out the quarter on a 6-5 scoring run to hold a 20-19 lead over the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Wolves had an offensive explosion in the second quarter starting with a 9-0 scoring run to take a 28-20 lead with eight and a half minutes remaining. The Lady Wolves continued with the early momentum with a 10-8 scoring run to extend their lead to 38-28 with under four minutes of play left in the second quarter. The two teams matched scoring totals with five points each to close out the quarter as the Lady Wolves held a 43-33 lead at halftime after shooting 62.5 percent in the second quarter.

The Lady Wolves came out in the third quarter and started with a 9-8 scoring run to grow their lead over the Lady Stars to 52-41 with six and a half minutes remaining. The Lady Stars went on a 7-6 scoring run to slightly cut into the Lady Wolves lead, 58-49, with three and a half minutes left in the third quarter. The Lady Stars closed out the quarter with an 8-7 scoring run to cut the Lady Wolves lead down to 65-57 heading into the final quarter of regulation.

The Lady Stars used a quick 5-0 scoring run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the lead down to 65-62 with just over seven minutes of play left. The Lady Stars then used a 9-6 scoring run to tie the game at 71-71 with close to three minutes remaining in regulation. The two teams then exchanged leads and ties throughout the remainder of play as Ceara Myers (Baton Rouge) and A'Shante Fleming (Canton) scored the final nine points in regulation for the Lady Wolves, but the game went into overtime as the scoreboard read 80-80 when the buzzer sounded.

In the overtime period, the Lady Wolves used solid defense and clutch shooting to beat the Lady Starts and outscored them 13-8 for the victory. The Lady Wolves scored two field goals during the period on shots from Fleming and Kayla Howard (Shaw) and made nine free throws including four from Myla Harbor (Farriday, LA), two from Howard, two from Fleming, and one from Jamea Smith (Jackson).

The Lady Wolves got three career-high performances during the contest as A'shante Fleming led all scorers with a career-high 31 points paired with seven assists, four rebounds, and three steals while Ceara Myers had a double-double performance with 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds along with three steals and one block. Kayla Howard also had a career-high scoring night after being in early foul trouble in the first half with 13 points along with three rebounds, three assists, and one steal while Myla Harbor had her first double digit scoring night of the season with ten points paired with four rebounds and one assist.

"A'shante Fleming had a huge night for us scoring her 31 points and dishing out seven dimes while Ceara Myers was also a big key to our success pulling down 17 rebounds," added Stephens. "Their hard work put in during the offseason is really paying off for them and our team."

Lashaunte Payne (Magee), Zamiya Brown (Flowood), and Jamea Smith had seven points apiece while Kiersten Haynes (Clinton) and Sequoia Bouldin (Hattiesburg) had two points each to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves. Payne also had a career-high rebounding night with nine.

"Jamea Smith and Zamiya Brown gave us huge defensive sparks off the bench, especially late in the game," stated Stephens.

Co-Lin is now 2-1 overall and will return to action on the road against South Arkansas on Thursday, November 9. Tip-off between the Lady Wolves and Lady Stars is set for 5:30 p.m., in El Dorado, Arkansas.