by POPLARVILLE, Miss — The No. 19 Pearl River women’s basketball team got its MACCC title defense started with a bang Friday night inside Marvin R. White Coliseum, scoring more than triple Enterprise State’s points with a 94-25 victory.
Enterprise State’s 25 points were the least scored in a game since Chipola College beat the Boll Weevils 101-18 on Dec. 5, 2023.
“I’m proud of our defensive effort. Our activity was really good, and it created offense,” head coach Scotty Fletcher. “We had 25 assists on 38 baskets. That’s beautiful basketball. I was proud of how hard they played. They were disruptive on the defensive end.”
A team that prides itself on defense, Pearl River (1-0 overall) got off to an incredible start on that end of the floor against Enterprise State (0-1), holding the Boll Weevils scoreless through the first 10 minutes.
Pearl River’s biggest offensive highlight in the first 10 points of the night was courtesy of Jazmine Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.; Andrew Jackson). The Alcorn State transfer caught a pass down the right side of the court, moved inside and unleashed a spin move to lose a defender for a layup.
PRCC’s next big play made the score 14-0. Paris Gilmore (Youngstown, Ohio; Warrensville Heights) was running straight toward the basket before tossing a pass over her head without looking to her trailing teammate, Sanyla Smith (Tupelo), for an easy layup.
Pearl River kept applying the pressure defensively and offensively and lead 24-0 after a quarter.
ESCC picked up its first point of the contest with a free throw when the second quarter began. Mattison Bell (Philadelphia; Choctaw Central) scored PRCC’s next five points. The freshman caught a pass from Jackson and drained a 3-pointer and followed it by stealing a ball away from an unsuspecting Boll Weevil player and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup, 29-1.
The lead swelled to 40-5 a while later when Sanyla Smith grabbed a defensive board and took it all the way down the court for the bucket. Before the quarter ended, Natasha Barnes (Chicago, Ill.; Kenwood Academy) threw a full-court pass to Sydney Lewis (Upper Marlboro, Md.; McLean School) for an easy layup, 42-5.
Pearl River outscored Enterprise State 25-15 in the third quarter with Bell scoring eight of the first 12 points in the quarter. By the time the 10 minute period was up, Pearl River had a massive 72-20 advantage. The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Wildcats outscored ESCC 22-5 to walk away with a 94-25 win in the season opener.
BY THE NUMBERS
Bell had a career day in her first career game, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting. The freshman was 5-for-8 from the 3-point line. She also had five assists and four rebounds.
“When she finishes her two years here, we will wonder how we will replace her,” Fletcher said. “She’s a coach’s dream. She brings it every night.”
