A promising first half fell apart during the second as the Mississippi University for Women women’s basketball team dropped a 73-45 decision to LaGrange College on Tuesday at Mariotti Gym in LaGrange, Georgia.
The Owls forced 12 first-half turnovers and made seven of their 10 steals before intermission and went into halftime trailing 24-21.
Senior Rokila Wallace had another double-double, her fourth of the season, with 22 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. It was the sixth time this year the Columbus High School grad surpassed 20 points.
Junior MG Chamberlain added 16 points, her seventh game in double figures, and contributed 6 rebounds. But only three other players scored for The W, while 12 Panthers scored.
Hannah Duran pulled down 8 rebounds for the Owls, who were almost even with the Panthers in that category, with the hosts claiming a 47-45 edge. Jasmine Shaw had 3 assists, and Jaycee Haynes posted 4 steals.
The W will travel to Conway, Arkansas, to play a two-game set at Hendrix College at 6 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Friday. The Owls will have almost a full month off before next playing Jan. 15 at Pensacola Christian and won’t play at Pohl Gym again until Jan. 25 against Crowley’s Ridge.
No. 6 Shelton State 78, East Mississippi 45: The Bucs coasted to a home victory in a rematch of a similar game two weeks earlier in Scooba, when the Lions fell 85-47.
Shelton State (10-1) built a 38-21 halftime lead, but EMCC (4-6) stayed within striking distance and cut the deficit to 49-40 on a Kyunna Thomas basket late in the third quarter. The Bucs then pulled away in the fourth.
Shelton State’s Asia Barclay led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Taylor Smith (13), Maya Cunningham (12) and Ke’Ajia Williams (11) also scored in double figures for the Bucs.
EMCC was led by Markiema Lancaster’s 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Thomas and Jenessa Souza followed with nine and eight points, respectively, for the Lions.
Men’s basketball
No. 19 East Mississippi 61, No. 16 Shelton State 56: Blake Butler finished with 14 points and 5 assists as the Lions won their sixth straight game.
Two weeks removed from claiming a thrilling 84-82 overtime home win over then-No. 10 Shelton State, the EMCC men never trailed in Monday’s rematch. The Lions combined a lockdown defensive effort with balanced scoring on offense.
EMCC limited Shelton State to 32 percent shooting (19 of 60) from the field, including only 7 of 33 (21 percent) from beyond the 3-point line. The Lions connected on one more three-pointer than the Bucs despite shooting 13 fewer times from behind the arc. EMCC shot 44 percent (24 of 55 FGs) overall from the field and 40 percent (8 of 20) from long range.
Smith scored 11 points for the Lions (9-2), while Butler added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, while Nick Walker contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds.
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