Wilkinson’s Record-Breaking Performance Leads Lady Wolves to Win

WESSON – The Co-Lin Women's Basketball team returned home for a game against Southern University-Shreveport on Saturday, December 7. A record-breaking performance by Angel Wilkinson (Brookhaven) led the Lady Wolves to a 92-78 victory.

"This was an excellent team win today after coming out to a slow start," stated Co-Lin head coach Dr. Britta Stephens. "In the first half, we did a very poor job of rebounding, and we turned the ball over far too much."

The Lady Jaguars jumped out to an early lead with a 10-6 scoring run over the opening minutes to hold the lead by that margin with 6:56 left to play. The Lady Wolves then responded with a 10-7 scoring run to cut the lead down to 17-16 with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter. The Lady Jaguars then closed out the first quarter scoring the final five points unanswered to hold a 22-16 lead over the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Jaguars continued to hold the Lady Wolves as they opened the second quarter with an 8-6 scoring run to push their lead to 30-22 with 6:50 left on the clock. The Lady Jaguars then went on a 6-5 scoring run to grow their lead to 36-27 with 3:14 remaining in the first half. The Lady Wolves then scored 12 unanswered points as Cookie Wilkinson hit back-to-back three-point field goals to give the Lady Wolves a 39-36 lead with 22 seconds left. However, the Lady Jaguars were able to tie the game with a buzzer-beating three-point field goal making the score 39-39 as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The two teams came out and matched scoring outputs with six points each to open the third quarter as the score remained tied at 45-45 with 6:28 left to play. The Lady Wolves then went on a 13-2 as Wilkinson scored ten of 13 points to take a 58-47 lead over the Lady Jaguars with two minutes remaining. The Lady Wolves then added three more points while the Lady Jaguars added four to close out the quarter; however, the Lady Wolves lead stood at 61-51.

The Lady Wolves then opened the fourth quarter with a 13-5 scoring run to increase their lead to 74-56 with six minutes left to play. The Lady Jaguars responded with a 13-8 scoring run as the Lady Wolves lead stood at 82-69 with 3:02 remaining in the quarter. The Lady Wolves closed out the game with a 10-9 scoring run to secure the 92-78 win.

"Cookie was stellar in this game, especially in the second half," added Stephens. "Tyra Johnson was a huge spark off the bench both offensively and defensively. Kaylee Johnson was also an impact player late for us in the game as she steadied us against their pressure."

Cookie Wilkinson led the way for the Lady Wolves as she led all scorers with a single game record of 44 points (based on records that are available). The 44 points is the highest total for a member of the Lady Wolves since Tiania Burns scored 43 against Mississippi Delta in the 2002-03 season while the next highest single game total belongs to Cindy Hodges Williams who scored 42 in a game during her sophomore season in 1976-77. Wilkinson also had four steals, three rebounds, and two steals.

Kamaiyah Pruitt (Pass Christian) narrowly missed a double-double performance with 19 points and eight rebounds while Tyra Johson (Morton) added ten points and six rebounds off the bench for the Lady Wolves. Kylinn Bell (Choctaw) and Jamyria Robinson (St. Martin) had five points each while Robinson also posted double-digit rebounds with ten. Eymani Key (Lafayette, LA) and Maddison Mitchell (Baton Rouge, LA) had three points each, Kaylee Johnson (Booneville) had two points and Armani Barnes (Tylertown) had one point to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves.

Co-Lin is now 8-3 overall and returns to action on the road against Baton Rouge on Monday, December 9. Tip-off between the Lady Wolves and the Lady Bears is set for 5 p.m., in Baton Rouge.