Pearl River women shine at home to take down Northeast

POPLARVILLE, Miss — Off one day's rest, the Pearl River women's basketball team outrebounded Northeast by 19 to come away with a 15-point, 59-44 win. With the victory, Pearl River moves to 6-0 in the MACCC and sits tied atop the standings with Gulf Coast.

"Northeast is a really great team, very well coached, they do everything right," head coach Shanae Govan-Williams said. "We knew it was going to be a battle. I am proud of our effort. We know we have a target on our backs, and are going to see everyone's best, but we did a phenomenal job doing the scouting report and making sure we knew their offenses."

Pearl River (13-4 overall; 6-0 MACCC) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead over Northeast (7-13; 1-4), sparked by Jae'la Smith (Vicksburg; Porter's Chapel) scoring the Wildcats' first two baskets of the game. Atesa Johnson (Lewisville, Ark.; Lafayette) extended the advantage to 9-2, sending the teams into the first media timeout.

Coming out of the break, Northeast scored three straight points, but Pearl River answered with four of its own before going on a 10-2 run. The surge was capped by a Jahanna Wilson (Jackson; Callaway) stepback 3-pointer as the quarter expired.

The Wildcats carried that momentum into the second quarter, stretching the run to 22-6 and building a commanding 31-11 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half. Both teams scored six points over the final stretch, giving Pearl River a 37-17 advantage at halftime.

After the break, Smith gave Pearl River its largest lead of the game, pulling down a rebound and going right back up to make the score 39-17. Northeast responded with a 14-2 run to cut into the deficit, but back-to-back layups from Smith and Wilson pushed the Wildcats back in front by 14 at 45-31.

Northeast opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to trim the margin to 11, but Madison Hughes (Olive Branch; Center Hill) quickly took over. Hughes scored three times in the quarter, including two shots from beyond the arc, while a Cy'Nara Robinson (McGehee, Ark.) fastbreak layup helped Pearl River rebuild a 20-point lead. The Tigers closed the gap once again to 15 in the final minutes, but the Wildcats held firm, securing a 59-44 victory.

LEADING THE WAY

Smith was the team leader in points, scoring 17, while also tallying six rebounds, one steal and one assist. Behind her was Hughes, who had one of her best performances of the year, scoring 13 while bringing in four rebounds, two assists and four steals. 

Dixon was another standout, nearing a double-double with nine points and a career-high ten rebounds. Wilson matched Dixon in points with nine while having four rebounds and four assists. 

NEXT UP 

Pearl River hits the road and travels to Senatobia to take on Northwest at 5:30 p.m. The game will be livestreamed at NWCCRangers.com/watch.