EMCC Lady Lions let 15-point halftime lead slip away in 51-50 home loss to ICC

SCOOBA — The Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College let a 15-point halftime lead slip away in dropping a 51-50 home decision to division-leading Itawamba during Saturday's MACCC North Division women's basketball action played at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.      

Entering the battle for first place within the division riding a four-game winning streak following Thursday's convincing 60-point home win (105-45) over Northeast Mississippi, the Lady Lions seemed to carry that momentum into the showdown with ICC by jumping out to a 22-11 lead after the opening quarter.

EMCC continued to build on its double-digit lead in the second quarter by turning up the defensive pressure and forcing the visitors into miscues.  A 10-point margin increased to 19 points (36-17) late in the half following a run of nine unanswered points by the home team.  Slowed by double-figure turnovers during the first 20 minutes of play, the Lady Indians managed to score the last four points of the half to cut their halftime deficit to 15 points (36-21).

In a classic tale of two halves, the visitors were able to take better care of the ball and increase their offensive efficiency during the second stanza.  With EMCC still maintaining a 15-point cushion (40-25) four minutes into the second half, the tandem of Ky'Leo Worriels and Nadia Gillespie then helped flip the momentum by combining for 11 points between them during a 13-3 ICC run the rest of the quarter to trim EMCC's lead to just five points (43-38) heading into the final period.

The Lady Indians continued to take advantage of EMCC's reigning all-conference forward Ja'Mia Hollings being in foul trouble as the fourth quarter started.  An 8-2 ICC run, including a three-point play by Amelya Hatch and Demetria Shephard's three-pointer, gave the Lady Indians their first lead (46-45) since the game's opening minutes.

While being held to just two first-half points, Shephard's pair of free throws knotted the score at 48-48 with 2:15 remaining in the contest.  ICC's leading scorer then struck again when she converted a three-point play with just over a minute left to put the visitors back on top for good.

After Markiema Lancaster's basket brought EMCC to within a point, the Lady Lions had one final opportunity to win the game.  Following a timeout with 8.8 seconds left in regulation, Jenessa Souza misfired on a three-point attempt with time to spare.  Itawamba secured the defensive rebound and was able to run out the clock to escape with the narrow comeback road victory.

Saddled with second-half foul trouble, Hollings scored 13 of her game-high 15 points during the opening 20 minutes of play.  Lancaster followed with 10 points.

Shephard's 12 points paced Itawamba, while Gillespie and Worriels added nine and eight points, respectively, in the come-from-behind effort.

Coach Sharon Thompson's 8-4 EMCC Lady Lions are scheduled to conclude regular-season play this coming week with a Monday road game at Holmes and Wednesday's home contest against Northwest Mississippi.  Tip-off for Wednesday's regular-season women's basketball finale is set for 6 p.m. at Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.