No. 11 Pearl River claims second MACCC crown in three seasons

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (via PRCCAthletics.com — After a season away from the championship podium, the MACCC title is headed back to Poplarville with the No. 11 Pearl River women's basketball team.

With an impressive 83-45 victory at Northeast on Thursday Night, the Wildcats have earned a share of the 2023-24 MACCC Championship.

"There are so many emotions that go through your mind when you get a chance to win a championship," head coach Scotty Fletcher said. "This is what every team in the country works for. Every team in the country desires to be conference champions.

"There was only one conference championship when we arrived here nine years ago. Now we've won two in the last three years. I'm just honored to be the coach at Pearl River."

The path to the MACCC title wasn't easy, but the Wildcats certainly made it look that way. After Thursday's victory, the Wildcats have now won 26 games this season and 13 games in conference play. Both marks are tops in a regular season in program history. PRCC needs just one more win to break the program record for most wins in a season. 

"This team continues to get better and work hard. They ask the right questions, and the players lead this team," he said. "They set the standard for themselves. Any time you have a formula like that, it's a recipe for success."

Due to the tiebreaker, PRCC is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region 23 Tournament. The Wildcats earned a first round bye and will host the winner of Northeast and Mississippi Delta at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Pearl River (26-3 overall; 13-1 MACCC) was on a mission in the game and almost instantly pulled ahead 7-0. Avery Young (Iota, La.) started what was going to be a career day early, hitting two early free throws before nailing a 17-foot jump shot. She then created offense with her defense, stealing the ball away, drawing the defenders and finding Hama'ya Fielder (Philadelphia; Neshoba Central) for a 3-pointer.

Alexis Arrington (Terry) took over shortly after, scoring seven of PRCC's next 12 points to end the first quarter ahead 19-12. 

Nearly everyone got involved in the second quarter of play, with Brooklyn Anderson (Collierville, Tenn.), Audria Houston (Tupelo), Samya Brooks (Pontotoc), Tiir Nyok (High Point, N.C.), Taylor Johnson-Matthews (Cleveland, Ohio; Charles F. Brush), Fielder, Young and Arrington all scoring baskets in the frame. The highlight of the quarter came within the final seconds as PRCC stole the ball away with three seconds remaining and found Young on the baseline for a buzzer-beating jumper, 46-20.

Nyok opened the third quarter with an impressive play, poking a ball away from an unsuspecting defender and going coast-to-coast for a layup, 48-20. PRCC's lead grew to 54-31 later with the help of Young once again. Fielder did a good job to throw a two-handed pass over a defender to Young. The guard caught the pass, dribbled one step forward and popped a long 3-pointer.

Young continued to be on fire throughout the remainder of the quarter, and by the time it had ended, 17 of PRCC's 22 third-quarter points were credited to the slick shooting sophomore. The Wildcats eventually headed into the final quarter of the night ahead 68-39.

Pearl River's lead continued to grow throughout the fourth quarter. Great ball movement by the Wildcats resulted in a Brooks layup. On the next play, Fielder rushed in from the left side and laid a ball off the glass with her left hand, 75-39. The points continued to flow and PRCC eventually secured the MACCC Crown with an 83-45 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
Young was undoubtedly the player of the game for the Wildcats, finishing with a career-high 36 points. She shot an unreal 13-for-17 in the game. She was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. She tacked on five rebounds. 

"Avery sent me a text this morning that said, 'this is my first championship to ever play for, and you can count on me tonight.' — boy, was she right," Fletcher said. "That's the player we knew we were getting when we signed her. She was remarkable. She looked like she was playing in her backyard."

Johnson-Matthews finished with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Arrington also finished with nine points.

TUNE IN
All home Pearl River basketball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.

Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320-AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.

TICKETS
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2023-24. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.