Box Score
Story courtesy of Randy Benson
TheTownTalk.com
CLINTON, Miss. – Score one for the defense.
Louisiana College's tough defense kept Mississippi College's strong post players at bay Tuesday night as the Lady Cats claimed a 68-53 victory over the Lady Choctaws at Wood Coliseum.
LC , who dropped out of the NCAA Division III national rankings before the game Tuesday, snapped an eight-game losing streak to Mississippi College and improved to 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the American Southwest Conference. Mississippi College fell to 11-3 overall and 6-3 in the ASC.
“This was a statement game,” LC junior guard Christy Pantallion. “We proved to ourselves – not to anyone else, just to ourselves – just how good of a team we can be.”
LC dominated the game from the start, leading by as many as 16 points in the second half. MC made a run in the second half, cutting the lead to six at one point before LC quickly pulled away again.
“This was a huge win for us,” LC coach Janice-Joseph Richard said. “This means a lot to our basketball program, especially to beat them in this building and in this fashion.”
LC's defense simply did not allow Mississippi College to run its offense effectively for most of the game.
MC post players Jennifer Wair and Jalessa Taylor, who came into the game averaging a combined 31 points and 16 rebounds a game, were limited to a combined 16 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday night.
“That was the game plan,” Pantallion said. “If we were going to get beat, we were going to get beat from the outside. We were not going to get beat inside.”
Mississippi College had a poor night shooting from the outside, connecting on just 16.7 percent (4-24) from 3-point range. The Lady Choctaws were just 1 of 12 on 3-point shots in the second half.
Meanwhile, LC junior Tillisha Givens and freshman Voneshia Williams were more than holding their own inside. Both had double-doubles. Givens finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Williams finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
LC outrebounded MC 35-30.
“That was huge,” Richard said. “I bet they had not been outrebounded in a game this year.”
LC's defense forced Mississippi College into 19 turnovers, which resulted in 23 points. LC committed 18 turnovers but those led to just nine points for MC.
Pantallion had 18 points to lead LC and point guard Briana Lewis finished with 10, giving the Lady Cats four players in double figures.
“I think we showed how good we can be if we just follow the game plan and do what we're supposed to do,” Pantallion said. “There was not one single thing they did on the court that was a surprise to use. We were prepared for everything.”
LC won't have much time to savor the victory. The Lady Cats will play Thursday at home against Texas-Tyler and Monday at Dillard in New Orleans.
“We can enjoy this win tonight,” Pantallion said. “Tomorrow it's time to go back to work. We can't be content.”