ELLISVILLE, Miss. — The battle between the top two teams in the MACCC was everything that was expected and more, but the Pearl River women’s basketball team fell short in a slugfest against rival and tenth-ranked Jones College, 93-88.

“I’m very proud of my girls effort. It was a great college basketball environment,” Pearl River head coach Scotty Fletcher said. “I loved the way the girls fought, but a few careless possessions hurt us. It’s something for us to learn and build on. I’ve said it before, but I know what I have in my locker room. I’ve got a lot of incredible young women that I have all of my confidence in.”

FIRST HALF

Pearl River (19-2 overall; 9-2 MACCC) had as good of a first quarter as it could have hoped for to start the “Cat Fight.” The Wildcats took a 10-6 lead at the 4:43 mark as J’Mani Ingram (North Augusta, S.C.) dribbled inside, unleashed a quick spin move and banked a shot off the glass and in. Jones College (18-3; 10-0) pulled the game back within two at 12-10, but Ingram had a perfect trip to the line to push the lead back out. Jaliscia Florence (Tupelo) followed up the basket with a nice layup to extend the lead, 16-10. On the play, Florence dribbled into the lane, fought through some contact and slashed in an off-balance basket.

Florence helped the Wildcats extend the lead again with 48 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Wildcat guard was tenacious on defense, constantly keeping the Bobcat guard in check. After a wrong move was made by a JC player, Florence slapped away the ball, recovered it and went coast-to-coast for a score and a 20-15 lead.

Florence knocked down a pair of free throws after a technical foul was issued on Jones and then Halle Traylor (Tupelo) struck. PRCC had the ball inside, causing all of the JC defenders to crash in but dished out to Traylor in the corner for a 3-pointer. Jones College matched the 3-pointer just before the quarter ended to send the teams to the second at 25-18.

The Bobcats didn’t go away despite the early deficit, fighting back to cut the deficit to 29-25. Hama’ya Fielder(Philadelphia; Neshoba Central) pushed it right back out to seven points at 32-25 after knocking down a 3-pointer.

JC tied things up, 36-36, before grabbing a 46-41 advantage at the end of the first half.

SECOND HALF

Ingram cut it to 46-43 right as the second half started when she slashed inside for an easy layup. A good pick set by Marcavia Shavers (Biloxi) at the 6:46 mark allowed Ty’Mesha Reed (Meridian) to rush into the paint and pick up an easy layup. On the very next play, Ingram snatched a defensive rebound and drove down the court, stopping just in front of the free-throw line to knock down a jumper. The basket made it a 53-49 deficit.

With the Wildcats trailing 69-62, Keshunti Nichols (Pearl) pushed inside of the paint before being held up by some Jones College defenders. The sophomore forward turned around and found a wide-open Brandy Scott (Hammond, La.) at the top of the arc for a 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to 69-65.

The Bobcats headed into the final quarter of the night with a 72-65.

Right at the start of the fourth, PRCC quickly squared things up, 74-74. After an easy layup from Ingram, PRCC got an impressive three points from Florence. She drove inside, controlled her body through heavy contact and got a basket to fall. She was fouled on the shot attempt and quickly converted the free throw.

PRCC went behind 89-81 before Reed pulled up from beyond the arc for a 3-pointer. The Bobcats kept adding on and eventually captured a 92-86 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

Ingram finished the night with 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Reed finished with 18 points, six assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block. Simon added in 10 points.

“Ty’Mesha lives for these moments,” Fletcher said. “She’s been with me for three years now and she knows what I expect. Any time that you give her a challenge, she steps up. That’s something that is super special about her and I’m glad that she’s a Wildcat.”

Shavers finished the night with a team-high 11 rebounds.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats return to the court Monday as Mississippi Delta makes the trip to Marvin R. White Coliseum. The game will get underway at 6 p.m.

CASHLESS BOX OFFICE 

To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2022-23. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.

TUNE IN 

Pearl River livestreams all home games for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the “Pearl River CC” channel from their app stores.

Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320 AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).