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.
Warriors Go 2-0 to Open 2021
The East Central Community College Warriors are off to a hot start to begin the 2021-22 campaign as ECCC quickly moved to 2-0 through the first week of play. The Warriors downed the Hinds Bulldogs in Utica to open the season in a tight, 77-74, contest on Monday night before cruising by the Royal Ambassador Lions, 114-34 in the home opener on Thursday.
The Warriors led for much of the contest against the Hinds Bulldogs as they built an early nine-point, 20-11, lead in the first seven minutes of play. That near, 10-point lead held for most of the first half until the Bulldogs cut it to six, 45-39, just before halftime.
Hinds chipped away at the Warrior lead through the second half and briefly took the lead 74-73, with just 1:18 remaining in the game. Christopher Keys (Quitman) drove to the lane to put ECCC on top, and ultimately lifted the team to a win, on the ensuing ECCC possession with a left-handed layup. ECCC grabbed a key rebound following a Hinds miss on the other end of the floor to secure the victory.
Jelani Clark (San Francisco, Calif.) was ECCC's leading scorer in the contest with 16 points, while Demajion Topps (Winona) finished with 12. David Berry (Mendenhall) came off the bench to pour in 12, and Keys rounded out double-digit scorers with 11. Damian McKnight (Lake Cormorant) cleaned the glass for ECCC with eight boards in the contest. The Warriors shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the floor in the win.
It was all Warriors in the home opener as ECCC scored from all parts of the floor in the big win over the Royal Ambassadors. ECCC led 45-15 at the half and outpaced the Lions 69-19 in the second half to cross the century mark for the first time this season. Keys led ECCC with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and in rebounds with eight. James Granger (DeKalb) came off the bench and added 15 points, while Anthony Richards (Jackson), Clark, and John Woods (Rolling Fork) all finished with 10 plus point performances. Topps controlled the ball for ECCC as he posted a team-high nine assists and swiped the ball six times from the Lions.
The Warriors finished the night shooting a blistering 53 percent (46-of-87) from the floor and posted strong performances from beyond the arc and the free-throw line.
The Warriors will be back in action at Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium in Decatur next Thursday, Nov. 11 against Mississippi Gulf Coast. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be seen live at www.eccclive.com/gold.
