On the Net (video):
Reggie Patterson recounts his solid performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNZDXN8XRok
Booneville, Miss. – Teresa Mays showed just how much of an impact she could make for the Northeast Mississippi Community College women's basketball program over the next two years on Thursday night.
The freshman tallied a career-high 16 points to top all scorers in a 68-59 loss to Itawamba Community College in the first contest of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division schedule.
"We came out with the mindset that we were going to start off strong," Mays said. "We were really aggressive and did a good job with that."
Mays helped the Lady Tigers build a lead by making three of the initial six baskets within seven minutes of the opening tipoff.
Itawamba jumped out front 27-23 with 5:26 remaining in the half after field goals by Latoya Collins and Lanikki McMillian.
However, from that point Northeast's defense put together perhaps its most impressive stand this season in the last few moments before the break. The Lady Indians were held without a point until the halftime horn sounded.
The Lady Tigers forced three turnovers and outrebounded their foe 10-5, including three offensive boards from post players Angelia Allen and Ayana Ragin, in that stretch.
Rebounding as a whole improved greatly for Northeast from its last outing against Gadsden State (Ala.) Community College. After allowing 21 boards on the offensive end on Monday, the Lady Tigers held Itawamba to just two in the opening period versus their adversary.
"Our players were focused and came out and did the things that we needed to do," said Northeast head coach Brian Alexander. "I thought the improvement was shown that we went back to work and got it corrected."
Back-to-back treys off the hands of Kiki Gwyn and Antionette Riddle jump-started a run of 13 straight points by the Lady Tigers to close the dominant spurt.
Allen and Mays added baskets down the stretch to help Northeast (3-5, 0-1) take a 36-27 lead into the locker room.
Itawamba returned from the intermission with a hot touch and shot 20 percentage points better than the Lady Tigers did in the final 20 minutes.
The Lady Indians (4-3, 1-0) took the advantage for good with 11:03 left on the clock on two free throws from Jayla Chills. A 13-2 run in the closing juncture of the game allowed Itawamba to claim its winning margin.
Three Lady Indians hit double figures in points, headed by Collins (15) and McMillian (10). Forward Lytia Coleman recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Chills, Itawamba's top scorer entering the matchup, was held to just four points after she scored 22 on Monday against nationally ranked Shelton State (Ala.) Community College.
Mays, an Oakland, Tenn., native, recorded career bests in the categories of baskets made (7), field goals attempted (15) and shooting percentage (46.7) in 29 minutes on the court.
"She is a rising star at Northeast," Alexander said of the 5-10 guard. "She just needed a little experience to get the nerves out. You'll see her do this quite often."
Riddle and Aushiana Ivy joined Mays in double digits with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
(M) Itawamba 81, Northeast 60
The Tigers held their visitors to a season-low 35.1 percent from the floor, but the Indians connected on 6 of 13 attempts from behind the arc to make up the difference.
Northeast had trouble getting the shots to fall early and could never fully recover. Itawamba (3-4, 1-0) held the Tigers to just 11 points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
A Reggie Patterson bucket sprung new life into Northeast and began an 11-2 run. Cameron Shorty and Dimario Jackson had two field goals apiece in that span that got the Tigers back within 30-22 with 3:40 remaining until halftime.
Makes in the waning time left on the clock by Dexter Stafford and Patterson kept Northeast (3-7, 0-1) close and trailing just 37-26 after the one period.
The Tigers got as close as eight points to the lead with 16:57 to play after a Shorty putback of an offensive rebound. But the Indians used a late spurt of 10 straight points, four of them by Johnthan McGee, to pull away at the end of the contest.
Alex Anderson was 9 of 16 from the floor for 20 points, a game-high for the Itawamba guard. Tyrone Wooten totaled 11 and McGee had 10 for the Indians.
Jackson and Shorty paced the Tigers with great efforts on the offensive end. The duo combined to go 11 of 14 from the free throw line.
A Brusly High School graduate, Jackson led Northeast with 14 points in a team-best 31 minutes of playing time. Shorty, a Senatobia product, scored 13 points.
Patterson continued his consistent actions on the court and notched 10 points and nine rebounds, barely missing the first double-double of his tenure as a Tiger.
"I felt I was going to have a good game and that I needed to give it my all," said the Baldwyn native. "Any night I can play like this, but this rivalry right here means more than anything to me."
Northeast enters the final week of the 2013 portion of its schedule with a big matchup. The Lady Tigers and Tigers aim to get into the win column in the MACJC North Division standings on the road at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
Tipoff between the two adversaries is slated for 5 p.m. with the women's contest first, while the men face off at approximately 7 p.m. inside Howard Coliseum.