Lady Eagles clinch Miss-Lou Conference title

By Chris Brennaman / Assistant Sports Editor
The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles used runs of 15-0 and 16-0 to start each half as they clinched the Miss-Lou Conference regular-season championship Saturday at Graham Gymnasium.

MCC (17-6, 4-0) hit seven of its 12 3-pointers during the two half-opening stretches as the Lady Eagles cruised to the 86-52 victory over Delgado Community College.

"We're excited about the fact that our team is playing well now toward the end of the season," Allen said. "Those were key moments of the game and to come out and play well at the beginning of the game and the second half, usually means a victory."

The Lady Eagles finished the afternoon shooting 52 percent from beyond the arc. Sharda'e Johnson knocked down five of MCC's 3-pointers en route to a career-high 22-point performance.

"She's a freshman, who is coming along and maturing," said Meridian coach Hilary Allen. "We're 23 games into the season and this is the time that I need her to be playing well."

The Lady Eagles opened the game connecting on their first five shots, while preventing Delgado from scoring in the first 5 minutes.

The Lady Dolphins missed their first eight shots from the field. They also had stretches of 0-for-7, 0-for-9, 0-for-10 and 0-for-15 while shooting 23 percent from the floor.

"We were able to make those runs because of defense," Allen said. "We limited them to one shot, we got the rebound and were able to push. The kids have bought into the concept of how fast we want to push it down the floor. We have been successful with it in the past and it leads to victory when we are successful with it."

After MCC jumped out to the 15-0 lead, the Lady Eagles hit their own slump, missing seven straight shots and allowing Delgado to get within four points. The Lady Dolphins wouldn't get any closer as Meridian scored 16 of the next 20 points.

The Lady Eagles led by a dozen at the break after both teams hit a shot from downtown in half's final minute.

Leading by 15 points midway through the second half, Meridian put the game well out of reach when Johnson started a Lady Eagle 21-3 run with her final 3-pointer — her second in less than 60 seconds.

Former Meridian High standout Tiara Parker added 18 points for the Lady Eagles, while Tiara Logan — an ex-Philadelphia Lady Tornado — had 14.

LaQuita Burrough pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with her nine points.

Christine Conner led the Lady Dolphins with 17 points, while Savannah Lerille contributed 11, including a pair of 3s.

The Lady Eagles will travel to Delgado Thursday to close out their conference slate.