Lady Wolves Win Thriller Against Lady Bears

WESSON – The Co-Lin Women's Basketball team returned to MACCC action hosting Southwest Mississippi on Thursday, January 16. A back-and-forth battle between the teams saw the Lady Wolves squeeze out a 57-53 win over the Lady Bears.

"Extremely proud of our team and the fight they showed," stated Co-Lin head coach Dr. Britta Stephens. "Our toughness and tenacity on defense were unmatched tonight. Despite being undersized, our post players fought and found ways to get defensive stops and rebounds."

The teams traded baskets and leads throughout the opening minutes of the first quarter as the Lady Wolves ultimately held a 7-6 lead with 6:01 left on the clock. Strong defense from both teams left the scoring to a minimum throughout the remainder of play in the quarter as the Lady Bears held a 12-10 lead at the end of play.

The scoring then picked up for both teams in the second quarter as they matched scoring outputs with six points apiece while the Lady Bears held an 18-16 lead over the Lady Wolves with 7:09 left to play. The Lady Wolves then went on a 5-3 scoring run to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:01 remaining in the second quarter. The Lady Wolves then closed out the first half on a 5-4 scoring run to hold a 26-25 lead as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Lady Bears came storming out of the gates to start the third quarter as they scored six unanswered points to take a 31-26 lead over the Lady Wolves with 8:01 left on the clock. The Lady Wolves then responded with a 7-2 scoring run to cut the lead down to 33-32 after Kylinn Bell (Choctaw) hit a three-point field goal at the 5:01 mark. The Lady Bears responded with a 6-2 scoring run to push their lead to 39-34 with 3:04 remaining. The Lady Wolves then closed out the quarter with a 5-4 scoring run, but the Lady Bears held the lead at 43-39.

The Lady Wolves opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 scoring run to take a 46-45 lead after Eymani Key (Lafayette, LA) hit a three-point field goal at the 8:08 mark. The Lady Wolves then went a 5-4 scoring run to push their lead to 51-49 with 3:55 left to play. The teams then matched scoring totals with four points each as the Lady Wolves held a 55-53 lead with 1:45 remaining in the game. The teams then played strong defense to keep the game at the score while the Lady Bears had a chance at the game-tying basket, but Angel Wilkinson (Brookhaven) stole the inbounds pass attempt by the Lady Bears and made the fast break layup to secure the 57-53 victory with four seconds left on the clock.

Angel Wilkinson led the Wolves and all scorers with 23 points paired with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals while Kylinn Bell had her best scoring night of the season with a career-high 17 points along with five steals, two assists, and two rebounds.

"Kylinn Bell had the best game of her career in this win and Cookie Wilkinson was also outstanding for us," added Stephens. "Cookie came up with big baskets and big steals at critical times throughout the game. Kylinn and Cookie were also both great leaders for us in this game."

Eymani Key had eight points, Kamiyah Pruitt (Pass Christian) had four points, Kaylee Johnson (Booneville) had three points, and Jamyria Robinson (St. Martin) had two points to round out the scoring for the Lady Wolves.

Co-Lin is now 11-6 overall, 1-1 in MACCC play, and is scheduled to return to conference play with a road contest against East Mississippi on Thursday, January 23. Tip-off between the Lady Wolves and the Lady Lions is set for 5:30 p.m., at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum in Scooba.