Lady Wolves Hold Off Late Surge by Lady Bears

Wesson – The Co-Lin Women's Basketball team returned to action hosting Baton Rouge on Tuesday, January 9. The Lady Wolves beat the Lady Bears while holding off a late fourth quarter surge to secure the win, 60-55.

I was very excited to get a win after not playing since December 4," stated Co-Lin head coach Dr. Britta Stephens. "Our team was very unselfish with their play tonight and I was very pleased to see that."

The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but ultimately the Lady Bears held an 11-6 advantage with four minutes of play remaining. The Lady Wolves then used their defense to spark some quick offense en route to closing the quarter on a 12-2 run taking the lead at 18-13 at the end of play.

The Lady Wolves then opened the second quarter with a 6-2 scoring run to grow their lead to 24-15 with just under eight minutes of play left. The Lady Bears responded with a 5-4 scoring run over the next few minutes; however, the Lady Wolves maintained their lead at 28-20 with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. The Lady Bears cut the lead down to 30-29 with just a few seconds left; however, Kayla Howard (Shaw) increased the lead to 33-29 as she heaved a buzzer beating three from near midcourt to end the first half.

The Lady Wolves then carried that momentum through to the third quarter as they went on a 7-4 scoring run in the opening minutes to grow their lead to 40-33 with just under seven minutes of play left. The Lady Wolves continued to hold off the Lady Bears extending their lead with a 7-4 run to 47-37 with around two minutes of play remaining. The Lady Wolves then closed the quarter out maintaining their lead at 50-41.

The Lady Bears opened the fourth quarter with a 7-5 scoring run to cut the lead down to 56-48 with close to eight minutes remaining. The Lady Bears outscored the Lady Wolves 7-5 throughout the remainder of play cutting the lead down to 59-55 with under a minute left in the game, but the Lady Wolves held off the late surge to secure the victory to open the second half of the season.

Ceara Myers (Baton Rouge) led the way for the Lady Wolves with a double-double performance of 13 points and 10 rebounds, leading the team in both marks, while Jamea Smith (Jackson) and Kiersten Haynes (Clinton) had 12 point each. Kayla Howard and Angel Wilkinson (Brookhaven) had eight points apiece, A'Shante Fleming (Canton) had five points, and Lashaunte Payne (Magee) had two points to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves.

"Ceara Myers was outstanding tonight," added Stephens. "She made some huge shots down the stretch that gave us the lead while Jamea Smith was also very good all game for us. Jamea's rebounding and defensive abilities can easily be overlooked, but she is a huge part of our success."

"Our defensive intensity during this game was incredible," said Stephens. "That intensity led to numerous steals which gave us some easy transition baskets throughout the game."

Co-Lin improves to 7-3 overall and return to action on the road against Northwest Mississippi on Thursday, January 11. Tip-off between the Lady Wolves and the Lady Rangers is set for 5:30 p.m., at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.