Lady Wolves Split Two Games at Southwest Coca-Cola Classic

SUMMIT – The Co-Lin Women's Basketball team returned to action with a pair of games in the Southwest Coca-Cola Classic on the campus of Southwest Mississippi. The Lady Wolves lost to LSU-Eunice, 79-58, on Monday, November 13, and then rebounded to pick up a win against Southern University Shreveport, 56-39, on Tuesday, November 14.

LSU-Eunice 79 Co-Lin 58

"The team came out flat today to start the game," stated Co-Lin head coach Dr. Britta Stephens. "We missed three layups to open that game and that really hurt us."

LSU-Eunice took advantage of the slow start by the Lady Wolves and jumped out to a double-digit lead, 19-9, after the first quarter. The Lady Bengals then matched their first quarter total in the second quarter while the Lady Wolves added 15 points in the quarter to make the score 38-24 at halftime.

The Lady Bengals continued their momentum as the third quarter was their highest scoring quarter with 24 points while the Lady Wolves added 18 to their total making the score, 62-42. The Lady Bengals then outscored the Lady Wolves, 17-16, in the fourth quarter securing the 79-58 win.

Zamiya Brown (Flowood) led the Lady Wolves offensively with nine points Kayla Howard (Shaw), Kiersten Haynes (Clinton), and Lashaunte Payne (Magee) had eight points each. Myla Harbor (Farriday, LA) had seven points while Ceara Myers (Baton Rouge, LA) and Jamea Smith (Jackson) had six points apiece with Myers leading the team in rebounds with eight.

"Zamiya Brown was a huge defensive spark for our team off the bench while Sequoia Bouldin (Hattiesburg) also had a good day defensively," added Stephens. "Zamiya and Sequoia got several steals which led to easy transition baskets and allowed us to cut the lead down to single digits in the second quarter."

A'Shante Fleming (Canton) had four points while Tia Richardson (Jackson) had two points to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves.

"Lashaunte Payne is always a steady presence for us and had another good day," said Stephens. "Overall, we did not shoot the ball very well and did not do a good job of rebounding and getting second chance opportunities which led to some easy transition baskets for LSU-Eunice."

Co-Lin 56 Southern Shreveport 39

The Lady Jaguars of Southern University at Shreveport outscored the Lady Wolves, 15-12, in the first quarter and held a lead by that margin at the end of play. However, the Lady Wolves had a dominant second quarter outscoring the Lady Jaguars, 22-8, to hold a 34-23 lead at halftime.

The Lady Wolves then outscored the Lady Jaguars in the third quarter, 9-6, increasing their lead to 43-29. The Lady Wolves carried their momentum into the fourth quarter to outscore the Lady Jaguars, 13-10, to secure the 56-39 victory.

"We did not shoot ball well again during this game. However, we did a great job on the offensive boards and gave ourselves a lot of second chance opportunities," stated Stephens. "Jamea Smith was unbelievable on defense, and she also took two charges, got several steals and was excellent rebounding the ball."

A'Shante Fleming and Kayla Howard led the Lady Wolves offense with ten points each while Kiersten Haynes and Jamea Smith added seven points each. Ceara Myers, Myla Harbor, and Zamiya Brown had six points apiece while Fleming, Myers, Harbor, and Smith led the team in rebounds with six each.

Lashaunte Payne and Sequoia Bouldin added two points each to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves.

"A ten-point run at the end of the first quarter pushed us to victory and that was sparked by defensive pressure and several steals by guards like Zamiya Brown and Kayla Howard," added Stephens.

Co-Lin is now 4-2 overall on the season and will return to action on the road against Baton Rouge on Tuesday, November 28. Tip-off between the Lady Bears and the Lady Wolves is set for 6 p.m., at the Bonne Sante Wellness Center in Baton Rouge.