Lady Wolves Open Conference Play with Win

WESSON – The Co-Lin Women's Basketball team hosted Mississippi Delta on Monday, January 12 for their MACCC opener. The Lady Wolves overcame a slow start and beat the Lady Trojans, 50-40.

"This was a hard-fought win, and I am very proud of our tenacity and competitiveness," stated Co-Lin head coach Dr. Britta Stephens Belanger. "I thought that we were outstanding defensively last night and did a great job of blocking out and rebounding."

Both teams were sluggish to start the game as they scored four points each and had the game tied 4-4 with 5:19 left to play. The slow scoring continued throughout the remainder of the first quarter as the Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Wolves, 4-3, to hold an 8-7 lead at the end of play.

The Lady Wolves offense came alive in the second quarter as they scored seven unanswered points to take a 14-8 lead with 6:48 remaining. The Lady Trojans responded with a 7-1 scoring run to cut the Lady Wolves lead down to 18-15 with 2:34 left on the clock. The Lady Wolves closed out the first half with three points to extend their lead to 21-15 as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Lady Trojans opened the second half with four unanswered points to cut the Lady Wolves lead down to 21-19 with 6:09 left to play in the third quarter. The Lady Wolves responded with a 4-3 scoring run to extend their lead to 25-22 with 3:37 remaining. Both teams then closed out the quarter by matching scoring outputs adding five points each while the Lady Wolves held their lead at 30-27.

The Lady Wolves opened the fourth quarter with a 6-2 scoring run to push their lead to 36-29 with 7:03 left on the clock. However, the Lady Trojans responded with an 8-6 scoring run to cut the Lady Wolves lead to 42-37 with 2:58 left in the game. The Lady Wolves closed out the game with an 8-4 scoring run to secure the 50-40 victory over the Lady Trojans and earn the win in their conference opener.

Akeelah Hobson (Oakdale, LA) led the way for the Lady Wolves with 12 points along with one rebound, four assists, and one steal while Eymani Key (Lafayette, LA) and Zion Nelson (Byram) had seven points each with Key adding five rebounds, three assists, and one steal to her night while Nelson had six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Kamaiyah Pruitt (Pass Christian) and Amari Barnes (Tylertown) had six points each while Jalynn Applewhite (Gulfport) added four points. Jamyria Robinson (St. Martin) and Tyra Johnson (Morton) had three points while Maddison Mitchell (Baton Rouge, LA) had two points to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves.

"Our posts, Tyra Johnson and Jalynn Applewhite, gave us a huge defensive boost off the bench," added Stephens Belanger. "Zion Nelson, Akeelah Hobson, and Kam Pruitt gave us great production offensively. Amari Barnes was another spark off the bench for us especially in the second half where she hit two big three pointers that put us ahead."

Co-Lin improves to 9-3 overall and will return to action on the road at East Mississippi on Thursday, January 15. Tip-off between the Lady Wolves and the Lady Lions is set for 5:30 p.m., at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum in Scooba.