EMCC Lady Lions jump out to 2-0 hoops start with pair of double-digit wins in Poplarville

POPLARVILLE – East Mississippi Community College tipped off the 2024-25 women's basketball season with neutral-site, double-digit wins over Andrew College (63-43) and Enterprise State (67-41) this past weekend at Marvin R. White Coliseum on the Pearl River Community College campus.

The Lady Lions led the entire way during Friday's season opener against Georgia-based Andrew College, jumping out a 16-8 lead at the quarter break and holding a 31-20 halftime advantage.  

The Fighting Tigers cut the deficit to single digits with a three-pointer early in the second half before EMCC scored seven unanswered points to jump out to a 17-point lead (41-24) with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter.

Andrew College took advantage of an EMCC turnover late in the quarter to get the margin back under double figures at 44-35 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. Kennedi McCray's three-pointer to open the fourth quarter sparked a 19-8 advantage in the quarter that finished off EMCC's 20-point season-opening victory.

McCray led all game scorers with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Leah Wilcher followed with eight points and 10 rebounds in her EMCC debut after transferring from Pearl River.

On Saturday afternoon against Enterprise State, EMCC opened the contest with a 10-1 run. After the Boll Weevils moved ahead by a single point (14-13) late in the opening quarter, McCray scored eight straight points for the Lady Lions with two treys and a pair of free throws to give them a 21-16 lead through 10 minutes of action.

EMCC opened the second quarter scoring nine unanswered points, including three-pointers from McCray and fellow sophomore Je'Niecia Hill, to take a 30-16 lead. After ESCC trimmed the margin to six points (31-25) late in the half, the Lady Lions took a 33-25 halftime advantage on Zantasheia Mallett's basket.

Freshman Dukiaha Jones ignited EMCC's second-half start by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to help give the Lady Lions a double-figure lead (41-25) they would not relinquish the rest of the game.

The Boll Weevils would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way, as EMCC led 50-34 at the quarter break and then scored the first 14 points of the final quarter to mount a 30-point cushion (64-34).

McCray again paced the Lady Lions with 17 points, hitting 3-of-4 shots from behind the three-point arc. Jones finished with 11 points for the winners.

Coach Isaiah Butler's 2-0 EMCC Lady Lions will head to Niceville, Florida to meet preseason second-ranked Northwest Florida State College on Wednesday (Nov. 6). The competition doesn't get any easier the following week when the EMCC women begin their home hoops slate by playing host to preseason ninth-ranked Shelton State on Nov. 11 in Scooba.