Booneville, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College women's basketball team had scored 90-plus points three times prior to the beginning of the second half of conference play, but had not crossed the century mark.
That all changed on Thursday, February 1 as the Lady Tigers broke through that barrier with a 102-71 triumph over visiting Coahoma Community College inside historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
"That feels amazing," said Northeast sophomore forward Aundrea Adams. "At the end of the game we were all like, 'Can we get back in? Can we get back in? We have to bust the clock.' So we were very eager to do that and get it done."
It was the first time for the Lady Tigers to reach that plateau in over two years. Northeast last scored over 100 points in a game on January 19, 2016 when it won at Arkansas State University Mid-South by a 101-92 margin in double overtime.
Adams was a big contributor to the final tally. She led the Lady Tigers with 30 points, which fell one point shy of tying her career-high, with 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the campaign.
Cherelle Jones also accomplished that feat with 14 points and 13 rebounds of her own. It was the first time all season for both Adams and Jones, who start together in the post for Northeast, to record a double-double in the same contest.
"The more you learn your teammates, the better you'll play," Jones said. "I love to play with Aundrea. She motivates me as well as I motivate her. So playing together is special."
The opening quarter was extremely competitive and featured four lead changes and two other instances where the score was deadlocked. The visiting Lady Tigers (2-15, 0-7) actually led 10-5 midway through the first.
But Northeast responded with a 14-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for good. Adams started the spurt with a pair of free throws and Tyra Tucker put the Lady Tigers ahead at 12-10 with a make from beyond the arc.
Tucker nailed another trey moments later to lift Northeast ahead 19-10 with 2:25 to go in the first. Adams capped a nine-point period with a basket that was assisted by LaJayla Turnage that gave the Lady Tigers a 25-19 advantage heading into the second.
Coahoma cut its deficit to one possession at 33-30 with 3:52 remaining before the break. However, Northeast (13-5, 6-1) scored 14 of the final 16 points of the quarter to extend its lead to 47-32 at halftime.
The Lady Tigers pieced together a stretch of eight unanswered points to help increase their advantage to 72-48 through three periods. Adams had two buckets in that span while Tucker and Turnage both contributed as well.
Tucker's lay in that was assisted by Maria Lauderdale gave Northeast its 100th point of the matchup with just under 30 seconds left on the clock. Markeela Fisk drained a jumper on the next possession to make it the highest point total for the Lady Tigers under third-year coach Brenda Mayes.
"I thought overall we did a really good job," said Mayes. "We had three or four different spurts that we went on that were big game changers. I was excited to see them execute like that."
Northeast committed only 14 turnovers on the evening, which was its second lowest total of the entire year. The Lady Tigers' 32 assists and 43 made field goals were both season-highs.
Dayzsha Rogan and Tucker rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for Northeast with 16 points apiece. Adallice Young had a solid stat line as well with seven points, eight assists, five rebounds and five steals.
The Lady Tigers were dominant on the inside with 74 of their 102 points coming in the paint. Northeast also had 34 points off turnovers and compiled a plus-14 margin in rebounding.
Northeast continues Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division play on Monday, February 5 at Northwest Mississippi Community College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.