No. 19 Pearl River moves back into first-place tie

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

MERIDIAN, Miss. — The No. 19 Pearl River women’s basketball team moved back into a tie for first place in the MACCC Monday night with a dominant victory at Meridian, 74-50.

With Itawamba’s loss against Coahoma, there are now five one-loss teams in the MACCC.

“Our girls were locked in and ready to play. The focus and the discipline you have to have to go on the road and win in this league was there,” head coach Scotty Fletcher said. “Meridian poses a lot of challenges. You have to be patient on offense. We did a really good job with our ball movement. We made the extra pass and shared the basketball. We rebounded the basketball on the offensive glass, too.”

After Meridian (10-10 overall; 2-3 MACCC) scored the first basket of the night, Pearl River (15-2; 4-1) scored seven consecutive points. All seven points were produced by Mattison Bell (Philadelphia; Choctaw Central). The former 4A Player of the Year caught a pass at the top of the arc and drilled her 3-pointer for the first score. On the next offensive possession, Bell whipped a pass into the paint to Roge’Ne’ Hillard (Hazlehurst; Copiah Academy). Finally, Pearl River took it away from the Eagles and passed it ahead to Bell for an easy layup, 7-2.

The momentum switch didn’t phase Meridian as it climbed back to cut the deficit to two points, 12-10. The Wildcats instantly stretched its lead back out, moving ahead 23-12 when Sydney Lewis (Upper Marlboro, Md.; McLean School) plucked the ball out of the air and got it to Mikayla Riley (Tupelo). Riley caught the pass and banked it off the backboard and in for a 3-pointer, 23-12. PRCC headed into the second ahead 25-15.

The Eagles scored the first seven points in the second quarter to come within three points of the Wildcats, 25-22. The 7-0 run was snapped by Jazmine Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.; Andrew Jackson), who nailed a 3-pointer before banking a floater off the backboard and through the hoop, 30-22. 

Just before the halftime buzzer sounded, Bell cashed in from beyond the arc. She worked herself open, caught a pass on the right wing, and hit nothing but net on her 3-pointer, 37-27.

Bell’s 3-pointer barrage didn’t end in the first half as she put Pearl River ahead 40-29 early in the third quarter with another one. On the play, PRCC moved the ball flawlessly to work Bell open. She finally was fed a pass and drained her 3-pointer.

PRCC crashed the boards for its next six points as Hilliard, Jackson and Peyton Hearvey (Tupelo) each scored on putbacks, 46-34. Natasha Barnes (Chicago, Ill.; Kenwood Academy) followed with a long-range shot, 49-34.

Pearl River carried a 56-39 advantage into the final frame of the night.

The fourth quarter was mostly carried by the efforts of Jackson, who drilled a trio of 3-pointers and knocked down a jumper for 11 points. The Alcorn State transfer scored 11 of PRCC’s 18 points in the final frame of the night, and the Wildcats secured a 74-50 victory.

LEADING THE WAY

Jackson’s 21 points led all scorers in the game. She knocked down five 3-pointers. The 6-foot-3 Hillard finished with a season-high 14 points. Mikayla Riley (Tupelo) scored 12 points, and Bell rounded out PRCC’s double-digit efforts with 11 points. 

NEXT UP

Pearl River returns to Marvin R. White Coliseum Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against rival Gulf Coast.

TUNE IN

All home Pearl River basketball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans with 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.

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