Itawamba takes two from EMCC

By By Cassie Chance/Special to The Star
Feb. 12, 2002
SCOOBA With the junior college basketball regular season coming to a rapid end, the Lady Lions and Lions of East Mississippi were both looking to improve their division records on Monday night in Scooba against Itawamba.
The EMCC women fell 48-38, while the ICC men took a 66-49 win.
The EMCC Lady Lions jumped out to an early lead off of two three-pointers by Erica Ray, but Itawamba answered back by going on a 10-2 run to take a 14-8 lead with 11:11 remaining in the first half.
East Mississippi rallied in the last ten minutes of the half with key shots by Michelle Shaffer, Candace Spires, and Katrina Barr. However, Itawambas rally early in the game proved costly for EMCC as the Lady Indians took a slim 20-18 advantage into the locker room at the half.
The Lady Lions got off to a good start in the second half as Shaffer tied the game just 30 seconds into the half. Itawamba, however, had an answer for EMCC as the Lady Indians nailed three three-pointers within five minutes to regain and extend their lead.
Following an EMCC timeout, the Lady Lions got four baskets from Donna Franklin to cut the Itawamba lead to 38-32 with 7:07 remaining in the game. After an Itawamba timeout, the Lady Indians got key points from Chassidy Hadley and Angel Blake, but EMCC fought back with shots from Franklin and Constance Logan. However, it wasn't enough as Itawamba took the 48-38 win.
Itawamba (14-5, 8-2) got 10 points from Ava Smith. Rakita Jones and Shana Woodruff had nine each. Franklin had 12 points, and Ray netted seven for East Mississippi (4-15, 2-7).
ICC men 66
EMCC 49
Coming off a key division on the road last Thursday night at Mississippi Delta, Clay Armstrong's Lions were looking to make it two in a row against the Indians.
East Mississippi came out strong in the first half as the Lions got baskets by six different players in the first 11 minutes. EMCC outscored Itawamba 10-5 before Jason Pannell and Shun Jenkins both hit jumpers to cut the Lions' lead to one before Raphael Edwards hit a three-pointer to spark a 9-0 EMCC run.
Itawamba roared back behind Pannell. However, it wasn't enough to catch up with the Lions as they took a 26-18 lead at the intermission.
The second half proved to be costly for the Lions once again this season as Itawamba came out looking like a new team.
The Indians pounded the boards and hit four shots from behind the arc in the first seven minutes of the second half to take a two-point lead before Reshard Alonza once again tied the game with 13:22 left in the game.
However, the Indians were too strong in the last 10 minutes as they used shots from five different players to take the 66-49 win. Trent Vaughn had 19-second half points for the Indians.
Itawamba (15-4, 9-1) was led by Pannell's 27 and Vaughn's 21.
EMCC (4-14, 2-7) got nine from Ryan Rodriguez and eight from Josh Steele. Dennis Dupree and Ralphael Edwards had seven each, while Reshard Alonza and Clem Celestine netted six each. Both East Mississippi teams will travel to Holmes on Thursday for another North Division match up.