The East Central Community College Lady Warriors moved to 1-1 on the year after falling to a challenging No. 6 Shelton State to start the season on Monday night before bouncing back with a thrilling, 71-60, victory over Hinds in the home opener on Thursday.
Shelton State built a lead early in the contest, running up a 15-6 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Lady Warriors battled and pulled the lead to just six, 17-11, late in the period. The Bucs fired off a rally to close out the first quarter to take a 25-14 lead into the second. That Shelton State lead continued to grow in the second to 36-18 at the midway point of the frame. At the break, the Lady Warriors were down 49-29.
The Bucs continued to hold the Lady Warriors at bay in the second half, but ECCC showed some promise as the team knocked down several big shots throughout the second half and showed a lot of grit and tenacity on the court, but ultimately fell, 91-46.
Inda Singleton was ECCC's leading scorer in the game as she netted 14 points, while Myeisha Scott (Jackson) had a 10-point performance. Mirial Cannon (Madison) led the Lady Warriors in rebounds with eight, while Scott was right behind her with eight. Other notable performances were Mer'Cades Miller's (McComb) four steals and three assists.
The Lady Warriors were quick to bounce back from the loss as they defeated Hinds in the home opener.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair as the Lady Warriors and Lady Bulldogs were tied six times. Faith Guy (Enterprise) closed out the frame with a pair of baskets off turnovers to send ECCC to the second with a 21-18 advantage. The second-quarter pace was much of the same for ECCC, but the Lady Warrior defense buckled down, holding Hinds to just 13 points in the frame, allowing ECCC to take a 43-31, 12-point, lead into the locker room.
Hinds roared back in the third quarter as the Lady Warrior offense fell in a slump and cut the nearly 15-point advantage to just two, 47-45. The 10-0 run was finally cut short with a Cori Keats (Philadelphia) three-pointer, but Hinds outscored ECCC 14-7 in the period.
The Keats three-ball turned the momentum back to ECCC's favor as the team quickly rebuilt the lead to double-digits in the fourth to pull away to a 71-60 win.
Bench players led the Lady Warriors in the win with Sylvia Jones (Brighton, Tenn.) posting 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Angela Middleton (Pontotoc) also checked in to net 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Scott controlled the boards for ECCC with 11 rebounds, while Shemaiah Smith (Terry) led the team with three blocks.
The Lady Warriors are on the road on Monday, Nov. 8 as the team travels to Monroeville, Ala. to take on Coastal Alabama -North at 5:30 p.m.