Booneville, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College women's basketball team proved that it has the pieces to play with the best squads in the entire country.
The Lady Tigers led reigning national semifinalist Shelton State (Ala.) Community College for nearly three quarters, but eventually succumbed to the Lady Buccaneers by a 99-78 margin on Thursday, November 10 at Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
"They showed that they can be a contender," said Northeast head coach Brenda Mayes. "Defensively, we were covering back and stopping their transition game. That gave us an opportunity to stay on top."
The Lady Tigers took their inaugural lead of the contest early in the opening period on two consecutive baskets by LaKeiya Lane and Timaya Stewart. Northeast maintained a 24-18 advantage after the first following another Lane field goal.
The two opponents competed in a back-and-forth second quarter. The Lady Tigers were ahead during the full 10 minutes, but by no more than seven points at any given time.
Aundrea Adams had four straight points on a layup plus two free throws to give Northeast its largest lead of the period at 40-33. Shelton State fought back to tie the matchup, but Lane's running lay in put the Lady Tigers up 44-42 at the intermission.
The Lady Tigers scored 10 of the initial 14 points of the second half to extend their advantage to 54-46 at the 7:40 mark. Lane cashed in an old-fashioned three-point play while Shelby Wilbanks drained her first-ever trey in a Northeast uniform.
But the Lady Tigers suffered a nearly five minute scoring drought that allowed the Lady Buccaneers (4-0) to jump into the lead. Alivia Hughes snapped the cold streak with three-pointer that cut Northeast's deficit to 65-63 after the third.
Shelton State, which is No. 4 in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings, eventually pulled away with a 34-point final period. Northeast stayed within striking distance until an 11-0 run by the Lady Buccaneers in the waning moments of the contest.
"I think they'll learn that what we did early in the game was good and then just build on that," Mayes said. "We were being very patient on offense and getting some good looks. We have an opportunity to have a good year."
Stewart topped all scorers in the matchup with 22 points on eight field goals, including a trio of makes from beyond the arc. It was the fourth highest point total of her career with the Lady Tigers.
"I was just going with the flow of the offense," said Stewart. "In practice we work on our shots and our coaches say if you're open then shoot it. My shot was falling so I knew I should take it."
Lane followed closely with 19 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists. Wilbanks had another solid performance with 17 points and seven boards while Adams tallied 14 points as well.
Northeast was solid at the free throw line with a 77.8 percent success rate with only six misses throughout the game. Lane paced that effort with a perfect seven-of-seven night from the charity stripe while Wilbanks also went six-of-eight.
The Lady Tigers remain in the City of Hospitality on Thursday, November 17 when they welcome Motlow State (Tenn.) Community College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the first home doubleheader of the campaign.