Clarksville, Ark.-Mississippi College turned a narrow 33-27 halftime lead into a 80-56 American Southwest Conference win over the Lady Eagles behind a 14-4 second half run Thursday night.
Ozarks (5-13, 3-10 ASC) hung with the Lady Choctaws (14-4, 9-4 ASC) in the first half matching basket-for-basket and even holding the lead for a short time. After Mississippi College built a 15-7 lead at the 12:06 mark, Ozarks went on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to 19-17 with 7:36 left. But Mississippi College made a run of their own to push their lead to 29-19 with 3:04 remaining. However, the Lady Eagles reeled off eight points, spurred by a pair of April Young shots, to make it a six-point game at the half.
Ozarks remained in striking distance of Mississippi College for the first five minutes of the second half. Chelsea Glasscock’s three-pointer got Ozarks within 37-33. But that would be as close as Ozarks would get. With Mississippi College leading 42-35 with 14:39 left in the half, the Lady Choctaws put away Ozarks with a 14-4 run over a four-minute span. The Lady Choctaws’ lead would eventually balloon to more than 20 points with five minutes to play. Ozarks had trouble from the field in the second half, hitting only 9-of- 31 (29%) from the floor.
Young led Ozarks with 16 points.
Saturday’s game against Louisiana College has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Ozarks will travel to Clinton, Mississippi, to face Mississippi College February 4.
Topics: Athletics