SMCC Sports Information

In one final test before the beginning of conference play on Thursday, the Lady Bears overcame a slow start before picking up a 72-61 home win Monday night over visiting Holmes.
“We’re searching for some people to fill some roles and tonight everybody got a good run,” SMCC head coach Brent Harris said. “Tonight, we got some good film to look at.”
The turning point of the game for the Lady Bears (4-3) came with about six minutes to go in the second quarter. Clinging to an 18-17 lead, SMCC went on a 17-5 run fueled by big makes from bench players Nia Hardison and Lylo Johnson and tough baskets from starting forward Lynn Griffin, who finished with a team-high 14 points.
“We had a lot of players getting in, we were good on offense,” said Griffin who finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
“We had good team chemistry and we just really wanted a good win tonight and I think that is what motivated us.”
In addition to Griffin’s performance, the Lady Bears got double-digit scoring from three others including 13 from Shylia McGee, 12 from Analya White and 11 from Hardison.
The run in the second quarter, overshadowed a slow start for the hosts as struggles on the offensive end prevented the Lady Bears from getting into rhythm. They trailed the Lady Bulldogs 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Following the turnaround, SMCC kept pouring it on in the third quarter behind the hot hand of Griffin. At the 7:18 mark of the period, the Lady Bears enjoyed their largest lead of the evening at 43-24.
But Holmes kept fighting and slowly worked its way back into the contest.
The Lady Bulldogs pulled within striking distance at 68-57 with just under three minutes to go, however, the Lady Bears got a pair of baskets late from White and some key stops on defense to help seal the win.
After the game, Coach Harris was pleased with the play of his reserves.
“It was a little frustrating to start like we did, but the bench kind of got us going,” he said. “Maybe we need to look at playing a deeper rotation.”
SMCC will open conference play Thursday at Co-Lin. The Lady Bears defeated the Lady Wolves 57-55 in overtime on Nov. 18 in a non-conference home game.