Lady Lions downed 49-41 at East Central to close out pre-holiday slate

DECATUR – The Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College dropped a 49-41 road decision to East Central Community College Thursday night at the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Building.

Seven lead changes marked a sluggish opening half of play by both teams in the contest.  The visiting Lady Lions held an 18-17 halftime edge and went ahead by four points early in the second half.  The Lady Warriors responded by putting together a pair of 10-0 runs later in the half to establish control of the contest.

Three straight baskets by EMCC freshman Nockeyia Qualls enabled the visitors to rally from a 43-31 deficit.  Two free throws by fellow frosh Takera Mitchell, of Wayne County, capped an 8-0 spurt by the Lady Lions that sliced the margin to just four points (43-39) with 2:26 left in regulation.

That's when East Central sophomore guard Jaianah Matthew took charge and finished off her 21-point effort by hitting a clutch 3-pointer and converting 3-of-4 free throws over the final two minutes to secure the Lady Warriors' eight-point home triumph.

Matching her season high of 10 points, Qualls, a Forest High School product, was the lone Lady Lion player in double figures.  Mitchell, EMCC's leading scorer on the season, was limited to a season-low four points on the night.

The Lady Warriors, now 4-6 on the season, also received 10 points from Tyneisa Mickens.

Falling to 1-9 on the season with their eighth straight defeat, head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC Lady Lions take a month-long hiatus from hardwood competition for the Christmas holidays before returning to action on Jan. 8 by welcoming the same East Central squad to the Scooba campus.