Moorhead, Miss. – A crazy start to the last act of Northeast Mississippi Community College's 2013-14 women's basketball season nearly ended with an unbelievable finish as well.
Teresa Mays got a solid look at a last-second half court shot that would have won the game, but her attempt hit the back of the rim and bounced out to allow Mississippi Delta Community College to hold on for a 79-77 victory inside J.T. Hall Coliseum.
"Whenever it released from my hands I said, 'Oh it's feeling good. It's feeling good,'" said Mays. "I thought it was going in, but it didn't."
The bad roll off the iron on Mays' desperation toss caused a furious second half rally by the Lady Tigers (7-16, 2-10) to come up just short.
After the game started with a ten-plus minute delay due to a tornado warning in Sunflower County, the Lady Trojans used a 9-1 run midway through the opening period to take a double-digit lead.
Another spurt of 12 straight points by Mississippi Delta, which included two field goals apiece by Ashanti Spencer and Aqueshia Kimble, put the home squad ahead 48-31 at the break.
But back came Northeast after the intermission. Mays knocked down a trey with 13:01 remaining to get the Lady Tigers back within striking distance at 59-50.
Northeast scored nine out of 10 points over a stretch of two minutes shortly after that and tied the game at 64-64 following an Aushiana Ivy free throw.
From that point, the two teams found themselves at a stalemate four more times in the game's final moments.
The Lady Trojans (13-9, 8-4) stood in good position with a two-point lead with 20 seconds to play and the shot clock off. But Antionette Riddle grabbed a steal and took it to the goal to tie the matchup at 77-77.
Following a Northeast timeout, Mississippi Delta rushed down the court and Krystal Nailer was fouled on her shot attempt in the paint.
Nailer made both of her free throws to set up the miracle attempt by Mays that came up just short of landing in the basket.
"It was an excellent comeback," Mays said. "We played possession-by-possession and didn't look ahead. That brought us back in the game really to be honest and even thought we didn't come out with a win we were close to it."
Mays capped a brilliant freshman campaign with 18 points. Ivy did the same with a game-high 24 points.
Ivy, a Tupelo native, also tallied nine rebounds and finished her initial season in Booneville with 319 total points.
Riddle came just four points shy of reaching 600 for her fantastic career as a Lady Tiger. The 5-9 sophomore notched 19 points in her last outing at Northeast and came close to a triple-double with nine boards and seven steals.
Kierra Erby also contributed mightily in the come-from-behind efforts of the Lady Tigers. A former manager who earned her way onto the team, Erby played in a personal-best 17 minutes and recorded a bucket, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and a block.
"It was my last opportunity to make an impact and I had to take it and give 110 percent," said Erby. "The second half we came out with a lot of energy and fought to the last second."
The Lady Tigers shot 50 percent following the intermission and were 42.2 percent overall in the matchup. Mississippi Delta was held without a three-point basket the entire final quarter, but totaled 46.6 percent from the field.
Five Lady Trojans hit double figures in points, topped by Spencer's 18 and Kimble's 12.
Northeast headman Brian Alexander noted how proud he was of his squad that fought through some tribulation during the campaign.
"As the season progressed and the adversity kept hitting us, I believe this team did max out," said Alexander. "As a coach, I can honestly say that this season was a success. There were nights we could have just folded, but we were in these games."
(M) Mississippi Delta 88, Northeast 73
Three Tiger freshmen concluded their first year at the collegiate level with solid performances.
Dimario Jackson led Northeast with 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He also brought in a career-high eight rebounds and four assists.
The Brusly, La., product finished with 303 points in 20 outings, an average of 15.2 per game.
"It's a blessing to just go out every night and try to produce for my team," he said. "I've just got to continue to get better. We'll just keep working and working."
Cannon Edwards, the most prolific three-point shooter for the Tigers, made four treys and scored 14 points against the Trojans. The Petal High School alumnus ended the year second in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) in shots made from behind the arc with 49.
Al Azulphar added his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He completed the year at 21st in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with 62 blocks.
Cameron Shorty also reached double digits with 11 points while Keldrick Lesley had eight in their final hurrahs in the black-and-gold.
"There are some positive things for this team moving forward," said Northeast head coach Cord Wright. "But like I continue to tell those sophomores, there's a lot to be said for some guys who continue to fight 23 games into it with the record that we have and that's a straight credit to their character."
A 13-0 run at the halfway point of the first half put Mississippi Delta ahead 29-15. Johnny Rucker had the hot hand with three made treys in that stretch.
The Trojans (9-14, 3-9) closed the quarter with a Nathaniel Watkins trey and Zamarlus Griffin runner to take a 46-29 advantage into the locker room.
Marquarius Boddie's make from beyond the arc gave Mississippi Delta a 71-52 lead with 8:29 to play, but the Tigers fought back as they did all season long.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Tyre Mallard coupled with an Azulphar offensive board and put back got Northeast (5-18, 2-10) within 76-67 at the 4:11 mark.
But the Trojans were 10 of 10 on their attempts from the charity stripe over the final 3 minutes, 11 seconds to secure the triumph.
"I think this game summed up how our season kind of went," said Wright. "There were a lot of ups and downs. I've said it from the beginning, our record is not anywhere where we want it to be, but our effort was there.
"As a whole, I like where this thing is headed. I like the kids in this program and the intensity we're bringing every night. We've got to keep fighting."
Rucker had 24 points to head Mississippi Delta's offensive output while Kel'Drek Young and Boddie had 14 apiece.