EMCC Lady Lions wrap up pre-holiday hoops slate by dropping 64-58 home decision to Jones County
The East Mississippi Community College women's basketball team closed out its pre-holiday slate by dropping a 64-58 home decision to Jones County Junior College Friday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College women's basketball team closed out its pre-holiday slate by dropping a 64-58 home decision to Jones County Junior College Friday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
Following a tight opening half of play that featured 11 lead changes and two ties, the visiting Lady Bobcats upped their slim 33-32 halftime lead by beginning the second half with an 11-2 run to go on top by double digits (44-34) at the 15:34 mark. The home-standing Lady Lions played catch-up for the next 10 minutes before knotting the score at 54-all on a basket by Charmane Tims.
The two teams then traded a pair of lead changes before the visitors scored five unanswered points over the next couple of minutes to move ahead, 62-56, with less than a minute remaining in the contest. After EMCC cut the deficit to four points on a Savannah Kimmons inside bucket with 41.7 seconds left, the home team was given ample opportunities to pull even closer or perhaps reclaim the lead.
However, the Lady Lions couldn't take advantage of a pair of JCJC turnovers on inbounds plays nor could they benefit from four missed Lady Bobcat free throws down the stretch. Instead, EMCC only managed to misfire on a couple of long three-point attempts along with coming up empty on an open layup try which would have further narrowed the gap.
Falling to 5-4 on the year, head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC Lady Lions were led by Takera Mitchell with 15 points. Jaylen Cox and Savannah Kimmons followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The JCJC Lady Bobcats improved to 5-4 overall with the six-point victory. The visitors received 15 points from Alyson Johnson, while Kadie Parker and Starla Daggans added 10 points apiece for the winners.
The East Mississippi women are idle until Tuesday, Jan. 7 when they travel to Decatur to meet East Central Community College.
Meanwhile, the EMCC men's team will participate in the Best Western Holiday Classic, Dec. 30-31, in Tallahassee, Fla. The Lions will face host Tallahassee Community College to open the two-day tournament followed by Eastern Florida State College on the second day.