CLARKSDALE— The Lady Tigers nearly exacted revenge on the Southern-Shreveport Lady Jags Saturday afternoon in front of the CCC homecoming crowd. The CCC ladies led SU by 1 with under 20 seconds to go but could not hang on, ultimately falling by a final of 54-53.
The Lady Tigers struggled to find their form in the first half, shooting the ball only 29% from the field. Still, they trailed by just 4 heading into halftime and came out guns ablazing at the start of the 2nd period. After the break, the Lady Tigers knocked down 55% of their field goals, a phenomenal pace that kept them in the game and gave them a chance to win it.
The Lady Tigers were led by Ashley Howard, who finished with 14 points. Playing in just her 3rd game of the season, Howard put on a show with a number of smooth drives through the SUSLA defense. Erica Collins and Ariel Jones, who was named Ms. CCC Basketball after the game, added 13 of their own.
Jones was briefly the hero for the Lady Tigers. With less than a minute to go, the Canton native took an over-the-top pass from Amber Sisk near the low post and knocked down a short jumper that gave the Lady Tigers the lead.
It just was not meant to be for the Lady Tigers though. With a little under 10 seconds on the clock, LaParis Robinson of SUSLA tried a 3 that bounced off the rim right to Savonya Robinson, who put in the easy jumper to make it 54-53 Lady Jags.
The Lady Tigers had a final chance with about 5 seconds remaining. Josta Totten took an inbounds pass and, turning on the speed, tried to drive the length of the court to the basket. Unfortunately, she did not get the shot off in time, and the Lady Tigers suffered their 11th loss of the season.
SUSLA won a similarly thrilling game vs. the Lady Tigers in Shreveport on November 7th, prevailing in that one 70-67.
Once again, free throws proved to be CCC's Achilles heel in a close game. The Lady Tigers managed to sink just 7 of 19 free throws in the game and just 6 of 13 in the crucial second half.
Collins snagged 15 boards to go along with her 13 points. It was the 5th double-double of the season for the Clarksdale native.
The Lady Tigers return to action Tuesday, January 20th at Northwest MS CC in Senatobia. Tipoff in that game is slated for 5 pm.
A live stream will be available on coahomasports.com.
