GADSDEN, Ala. — The Pearl River women’s basketball team concluded the first half of the 2022-23 season on Saturday with a resounding 86-43 victory against Gadsden State. The win sees the Wildcats head into the winter break with a perfect 10-0 record.

“I thought we played stellar defense, had exceptional attention to detail and shared the ball extremely well. We are really learning how to play together and it’s showing with how well we work in the open court,” head coach Scotty Fletcher said. “This is a special group and teams like this are hard to come by. I hope we continue to work together towards our common goal.”

The 10-0 start to the season is the best for the Wildcats under the direction of Fletcher.

“Us being undefeated right now is very rewarding for everyone that believes in Pearl River women’s basketball,” Fletcher said. “Pearl River is such a special place and to be here where we are now compared to eight years ago is humbling”

FIRST QUARTER

Pearl River (10-0 overall) hit the ground running by jumping out on an 11-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Halle Traylor (Tupelo) and back-to-back baskets from Ty’Mesha Reed (Meridian).

Gadsden State (2-8) responded quickly with a 9-0 run to take the lead, 9-7. J’Mani Ingram (North Augusta, S.C.) helped the Wildcats bounce back shortly after by grabbing an offensive rebound and promptly laying it up and in to tie things 9-9.

The basket sparked a massive 17-0 run by Pearl River that included two more Ingram baskets, a Jaliscia Florence (Tupelo) coast-to-coast layup, two second-chance layups from Marcavia Shavers (Biloxi), and a second-chance basket from Keshunti Nichols (Pearl). The run helped propel the Wildcats to a sizable 26-9 lead to end the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

The Cardinals opened the scoring in the second to cut the deficit to 26-11, but Pearl River quickly responded with three consecutive baskets from Ingram, Nichols, and Tierra Simon (Houston, Texas; Heights) to increase the lead to 32-11.

From there, the teams traded baskets with the Wildcats still ahead by a sizable margin, 38-19.

The Wildcats again went on a run, this time sparked by Hama’ya Fielder (Philadelphia; Neshoba Central), who sliced through the defense on back-to-back possessions for layups. The run saw the Wildcats close out the half with a comfortable 44-22 lead.

THIRD QUARTER

Traylor got the Wildcats going in the third by stepping around a defender to nail an open jump shot to set the score 46-22. Reed brought the ball up the court shortly after and fired a pass into the paint to Shavers, who fought through being fouled for a layup. She then converted on the and-one opportunity.

After a short scoring drought by both sides, Alexis Arrington (Terry) received a pass in the corner and knifed through the defense to lay the ball up and in to get the Wildcat offense going again. The basket increased the lead further to 51-22. The teams then exchanged scores again, with Pearl River still ahead 58-26.

The Wildcats closed out the third quarter on a 7-0 run that included a Fielder layup and 3-pointer as well as a Shavers putback basket to set the score 65-26.

FOURTH QUARTER

Gadsden State opened the scoring in the fourth, but the Wildcats answered with another 6-0 run with baskets from Florence, Fielder, and Simon to continue to pile on 73-26.

The Cardinals were able to slice into the deficit in the fourth by hitting several 3-pointers, but the Wildcats had built such a large lead that they were able to withstand the late barrage to claim an impressive 86-43 victory.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats will return to action once the New Year starts on January 3rd at home against Calhoun Community College. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).