Lady Lions improve to 5-2 in MACCC play with 92-71 home win over Northeast

SCOOBA — EMCC's Lady Lions improved to 5-2 in conference play with a solid 92-71 home triumph over Northeast Mississippi during Monday's MACCC women's basketball action played at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.

Following a slow start, the home-standing Lady Lions used a 9-2 run at the end of the opening quarter to turn an early 13-6 deficit into a 15-15 tie to close the period.

EMCC claimed its first lead of the contest at the start of the second quarter and never trailed again. With Jenessa Souza scoring seven straight EMCC points early in the quarter, the Lady Lions went into halftime with a 40-33 lead.

Following intermission, the Lady Lions outscored Northeast, 25-18, for the second straight quarter and led by as many as 17 points before owning a 65-51 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

EMCC's margin hovered around the 20-point mark for the remaining 10 minutes of action on the way to winning for the fourth time in five tries during the month of January.

Improving to 8-7 overall and 5-2 in MACCC play, head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC Lady Lions were led by Souza and Shakira Wilson with 17 points apiece and five made three-pointers between them. Freshman point guard DJ Williams, out of Columbus, totaled 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Kyunna Thomas and Siarra Jackson added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the winners.

Falling to 3-14 overall and 1-7 within the conference, the Northeast women were paced by Calysia Phillips' game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting along with 17 points from JaQuasia Dorrough.

The East Mississippi basketball teams continue MACCC action by taking on Pearl River Community College on Thursday (Jan. 27). The Lions will play host to the conference-leading Wildcats (13-2 & 8-0 MACCC) in Scooba, while the EMCC Lady Lions will travel to Poplarville to meet the PRCC women. Both games are slated to tip off at 6 p.m.