Lady Indians bounce back for crucial division win over MS Delta

Lady Indians bounce back for crucial division win over MS Delta
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

MOORHEAD, MS – After dropping a double overtime decision to East Mississippi on Tuesday, the Lady Indians bounced back in a big way with a dominate 80-66 road win to hand Mississippi Delta Community College their first division loss of the season.

"I was proud of the effort the girls played with," said Coach Nanci Gray. "I felt like our defensive pressure helped create some early momentum for us to be able to build some confidence we've been missing the past few weeks. Hopefully we can build on all the positives from this game to keep getting better and continue to come together as a team."   

The Lady Indians (9-7, 5-1 MACJC North) left no doubt racing their way out to a 44-26 halftime lead and held a 20-point lead throughout majority of the second half before the Lady Trojans (9-6, 4-1 MACJC North) closed the gap to 16 by the end of the night.

The win keeps ICC in the chase for the North Division crown with the Lady Trojans and East Mississippi nipping at their heels as the season races to an end.

Lytia Coleman (Memphis, TN) recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

"We challenged Tia to step up after we got off to a sluggish start to the second half of the season," said Gray. "We needed her to become a more complete player instead of just being a scorer and she has answered that challenge on defense and on the boards."

Kaelin Kneeland (Olive Branch) came off the bench to score 14 points and grab 6 rebounds.

"KK has really been stepping up her play in this half of the season," commented Gray. "She is playing a lot more aggressive on the boards and is doing an outstanding job moving without the ball to find open spots on the floor and knocking down the shots when she gets them."

Latoya Collins (Jackson) added 12 points and Leslie Robinson (Belmont) chipped in 11 in the win for the Lady Indians.

"Latoya and Leslie have been there for us all season," Gray said. "You can't say enough about the things they do for our team each night that don't show up on the stat sheet. I'm proud of their play, but I'm especially proud of the level of leadership they've take on both on the floor and off the floor."

Niya Head led Mississippi Delta with 23 points.

ICC will step out of division play as they travel to Poplar Bluff, Missouri to face Three Rivers Community College on Monday before returning to the Davis Event Center to take on the rivals from Northeast Mississippi Community College on Thursday.

For more information on ICC basketball and the eight other intercollegiate athletic programs, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).