Clarksville, Ark.-Lacey Phillips near triple-double propelled Ozarks to a huge 67-62 conference road win against Mississippi College Saturday in Clinton, Mississippi.
The junior guard from Clarksville scored 12 points, grabbed ten rebounds and dished out nine assists to push the Lady Eagles (10-8, 6-7 ASC) to their third win in their last four tries. It is the first road win over Mississippi College (12-4, 7-4 ASC) in program history. Ozarks still remains in fifth-place in the American Southwest Conference East Division behind Louisiana College, Texas-Dallas, Mississippi College and Texas-Tyler.
“Lacey played really well today,” said head coach Carl Ramsey. “She is coming off an injury and is more comfortable out there.”
Ozarks used a balanced scoring attack – five players reached double figures – and got three-point shots from five different players. April Young drilled three three-pointers, and Phillips, Chelsea Glasscock, Ashley Teague and Serena Clokey each hit two from long-range. Phillips led the team in scoring, while Young followed with 11 points, and Glasscock, Teague and Sabrina Goddard each contributed 10 points.
“Having five in double figures is hard for the opponent to guard,” said Ramsey. “In the first half, our leading scorer had one point. In the past, we fed off her, but this time others picked it up. Everyone took turns getting hot. We had kids come off the bench that produced and kept it going. Defensively, we really played well. We did well on their high-low post play.”
Ozarks held a 36-31 lead at halftime and then built a 44-33 advantage after Phillips buried a three-pointer at the 15:24 mark of the second half. The Lady Choctaws went on a cold spell and wouldn’t score again until the 12:23 mark. By that time Ozarks had extended their lead to 49-36. But Mississippi College cut it to 59-51 with 6:03 left in the game. Phillips countered on Ozarks next possession with a jumper to bring the lead back to ten points. Mississippi College would make one more final run to trim the deficit to 64-59 with 2:19 remaining. Goddard made two clutch free throws with 42 ticks on the clock to make it 66-59. Mississippi College did hit a three-pointer with 31 seconds left, but that would be their final basket of the game.
“Overall on this trip I was pleased with how the kids approached the games,” said Ramsey. “They felt like they could win both games and I don’t know if I have seen that every time. Mississippi College made a run late in the second half and last year we would have found a way to mess up. But this year we have found a way to win those. They believe they can do it. We are a long way from where we want to be but we are going in the right direction.”
Ozarks will host East Texas Baptist University January 27.
Topics: Athletics