The Power to Surprise

Unheralded Kia Morris keys MCC women into Miss-Lou final

By Jamie Wachter / Sports Editor
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — With Meridian Community College's lead down to seven with seven minutes to play, the MCC women's basketball team needed someone to make a play.

Enter unheralded defensive stopper Kia Morris. Moments after finding Chasity Kearney for a run-stopping bucket, Morris got a steal and layup and the Eagles continued on to a 76-65 win against Delgado in the first round of the Miss-Lou Conference tournament Monday at Graham Gymnasium. The Eagles (24-5) now host Baton Rouge at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the tournament championship game.

“She does a great job of going out and getting after people,” MCC coach Hilary Allen said of Morris. “We center around her. She goes out and gets the ball, and then everybody else just finds someone to guard.

“That's a key factor for the rest of the team. They know they don't have that on-ball responsibility. They know that's Kia's.”

MCC, which opened the game on a 12-0 run and added a 12-2 run late in the first half to lead 43-27 at the break, watched as the Dolphins fought back. The lead, which reached 56-38 with just less than 15 minutes to play on a Bianca Powell floater, was sliced to 56-46 just three minutes later as Dakwanda Sevalia hit three straight buckets for Delgado.

Then with 7:30 left, Claudia Tasker drained a 3-pointer - her lone basket - to trim the Eagle advantage to 62-55.

Morris then fed Kearney - who had a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds - to stop the momentum. She then got a steal near midcourt and finished with a layup that pushed the lead back to double digits. Delgado wouldn't get within nine the rest of the way.

Powell, the lone sophomore starter for MCC, was also instrumental in closing out the win. Following Morris' steal and score, Powell followed suit. She then answered a Shaquinta James 3 with a score and then made a key missed 3. With the shot clock about to expire and in the backcourt retrieving a deflected pass, the Eagles' point guard's halfcourt heave caught iron allowing Arnissa Galloway the opportunity for a putback. Galloway finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, as she scored MCC's final six points.

One of those late baskets came off a Powell pass, as the sophomore dished out nine assists to go along with nine points in running MCC's up-tempo attack.

“Bianca Powell, I think made some real nice plays the last three or four minutes,” Allen added. “She made some good penetration passes down to the block, and took care of and handled the ball, doing the things we needed down the stretch.”

Before the late heroics, the Eagles soared early. MCC hit five of its first six shots and scored on the first five possessions to grab a 12-0 lead. Kearney scored twice in the spurt and Powell and former Northeast Lauderdale star Norianna Haynes each drained 3s. Haynes scored 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

However, Delgado would answer. The Dolphins responded to the 12-0 hole with a 10-point run of their own as Kayla Jackson poured in six points in the streak. As the two teams traded blows, MCC led 20-17 with 10 minutes left before starting to pull away. After a pair of Eagle scores, Delgado's Cache' Jones hit a 3 - her lone basket - to make it 25-20 before Meridian went on a 12-2 run to take control. Morris had five of her eight points in the run.

“We hit a bunch of shots and the kids came out fired up,” Allen said. “But Delgado's not going to quit. It was do or die time for them and they gave maximum effort.”

James led Delgado (5-19) with 14 points, while Sevalia added 12 as nine Dolphins scored.