Booneville, Miss. – Jasmine Allen broke Northeast Mississippi Community College out of an early shooting slump on Tuesday and in the process helped her squad claim its second marquee win in as many games.
Allen knocked down a big trey during a key stretch at the end of the opening half that propelled the Lady Tigers to a 76-72 decision over Baton Rouge (La.) Community College to conclude the 13th edition of the Northeast Tipoff Classic with a perfect record.
The Lady Tigers missed eight of their initial nine attempts from beyond the arc but were still able to amass a narrow 25-24 margin with 3:43 remaining until the break after Aushiana Ivy and Daisha Williams combined for 18 early points.
Northeast built its lead to double digits from that mark with an 11-0 run that lasted into the waning seconds of the period. Williams connected from long distance twice while Allen had a three-pointer plus a pair of free throws to push the Lady Tigers ahead 36-24.
"I played hard and did what I was supposed to do," said Allen. "We just played our game tonight and I'm ecstatic that we won."
The Lady Bears (1-3) were held without a field goal for over three minutes in the second half and saw their deficit increase to 46-27 following Allen's old-fashioned three-point play and two makes from the charity stripe by Ivy.
Back-to-back baskets by LaKeiya Lane and Arianna Simms increased Northeast's advantage against the reigning National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 champion to its biggest of the contest at 72-50 with 5:10 left on the clock.
Baton Rouge used a spurt of 12 unanswered points that was fueled by an Anitara Whitfield trey to edge closer to the Lady Tigers' lead. But a V'lenchia Farmer bucket and two free throws with under one minute to play by Dashiyah Agnew secured the victory for Northeast.
"I thought our girls brought great energy and effort," Lady Tigers head coach Brian Alexander said. "I gotta give credit to our players. We've got some things to clean up, but we have the chance to do some really special things here."
Ivy had another stellar evening to pace Northeast in its triumph. She notched 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals one night after earning her seventh career double-double.
"I'm really just playing for my team," said Ivy. "I know once they watch me that it boosts everybody else. I've got to keep playing my game and maybe we'll keep winning."
Williams' hot start to her sophomore campaign continued versus a Lady Bear team that qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament one year ago. She tallied a career-high 22 points and tied a personal best with six field goals.
Allen rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Lady Tigers with 11 and topped a bench that added 27 points in the triumphant effort. Northeast was successful on 30 of its 39 free shots.
Four of Baton Rouge's starters had double-figure point totals, including Lanae Bickham and Whitfield at 15 apiece. However, the Lady Bears' six reserves accounted for just 10 bench points.
The Lady Tigers forced its opponent into 35-plus turnovers for the second straight outing. Northeast pressured Southwest Mississippi Community College into 38 miscues on Monday.
It is the best start by the Lady Tigers since the 2008-09 season. Northeast defeated Shelton State (Ala.) Community College and Motlow State (Tenn.) Community College to compile an identical 2-0 mark that year as well.
The Lady Tigers return to the court on Tuesday, November 11 when Mid-South (Ark.) Community College travels to legendary Bonner Arnold Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip.
(M) Baton Rouge 67, Northeast 63
The three-point shooting skills of Cannon Edwards aided the Tigers in their come-from-behind efforts late in the second half.
Northeast trailed the Bears by as much as 59-45 with 8:29 remaining in the matchup following a Christian Echols trey. But Edwards drained two consecutive tries from behind the arc that gave the Tigers new life.
"Coach went with five guards that he thought could handle it under pressure," Edwards said. "I thought we were really getting after it for a while."
Jack Nichols and Dimario Jackson each contributed four points to the rally as well. Jackson's second basket brought the game into a tie at 61-61 for the initial time since midway through the first period.
However, an Echols jumper and four free throws by Jermaine Johnson in the final minute of the contest caused Northeast (1-1) to come just shy of completing its tremendous comeback attempt against Baton Rouge.
"It's an opportunity to grow and it just shows that we have more room for improvement," said Tigers headman Cord Wright. "We want to consistently get better and I saw a bunch of positive things."
The matchup featured four ties and four lead changes early. An Erik Thomas basket and two makes from the charity stripe by Damian Young gave the Bears a 32-25 advantage with 2:06 left before the intermission.
Dexter Stafford made one of two free throws and Jackson cut through the lane for a layup with 36 seconds on the clock to slice Northeast's deficit to 32-28 at halftime.
Jackson topped the Tigers with team-highs in points with 20 and rebounds at seven. Edwards chipped in 10 points while Raheem Sorrell barely missed the double-digit plateau with nine.
Thomas paced Baton Rouge (2-1) with 18 points while Drexler Davis registered a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The hosts shot 40.7 percent from the floor while the Bears were halted to only 30.3 percent overall. Baton Rouge overcame its struggles with Northeast's defense by hitting 17 of 21 attempts from the charity stripe.
The Tigers resume their schedule with a rematch against the Bears in Baton Rouge, La., on Thursday, November 13. A 7:30 p.m. tipoff is slated at the Bonne Sante Wellness Center.