Lady Indians pull away in second half for 80-55 win over NECC

Lady Indians pull away in second half for 80-55 win over NECC
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – Sparked by a 14-0 run to start the second half, the Itawamba Community College Lady Indians opened North Division play with an 80-55 victory over rival Northeast Mississippi Community College on Thursday.

"This was the best all-around team effort we have had all season long," said ICC women's head basketball coach Nanci Gray. "We got a tremendous effort from our starters and our bench players came in and didn't miss a beat. Coach (Robin) Porter and I challenged the team before we left the locker room and everybody gave us the effort we were looking for tonight."

Sophomore Ty-Nita Baker (Houston) led the Lady Indians with 21 while fellow sophomore Ayanna Lynn (Indianola) added 15 points as the Lady Indians connected on 31-of-56 (55.4%) from the floor.

"Ty and Ayanna were active all night long," Gray said of the sophomore duo. "They did a great job of moving without the basketball, finding the open spots on the floor and then creating scoring chances for their teammates when Northeast tried to focus more on them defensively."

Freshmen Latoya Collins (Jackson) had 17 and LyTia Coleman (Memphis, TN) added 12 off the bench in the win.

"Toya and Tia played a great game of the bench," Gray commented. "I was proud of how they were able to stay focused and not get caught up in this kind of a game and atmosphere. They keep showing signs of improvement, but now we have to work towards them giving a consistent effort the rest of the way out."

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and extended the Lady Indians' win streak over Northeast to five-straight games.

"It's always big to open division play with a win, but it's even bigger when you can get that win over your rivals," Gray. "There's just something about this game that flips a switch in our players that makes them take their game up a notch and we need to find a way to treat every game like this."

Sophomore Jasmine Hampton (Bruce) scored 7 points and collected 10 rebounds while fellow sophomore Ashley Wiley (Jackson) and freshman Presley Pulse (Walnut) added 3 points each in the win.

LaTonya Gadison was the only Northeast player scoring in double figures with 16 points.