By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
It took a while for the Mississippi University for Women’s basketball team to gain its footing Saturday against one-win Morris College (S.C.), but the Lady Owls used a dominant fourth-quarter to seal a 79-62 win at Pohl Gymnasium.
The Lady Owls held the Lady Hornets to just six points in the final frame, ultimately using its edge in athleticism to shut down the lane and force a pair of Morris players to foul out of the game.
A defensive switch from zone to man pressure, combined with added emphasis to flash a player in the middle of Morris’ zone and attack the basket, helped the Owls turn a four-point halftime lead into a comfortable gap.
The game, though, shouldn’t have been within reach; MUW missed 20 free throws to finish at 43.8 percent. And the lethargic first-half performance left MUW coach Howard White, Jr. frustrated and lamenting a trend that the team is “living with right now.”
“We’ve been doing that of late – not executing the first half, then, third quarter, we start making the little chippy layups and start executing our offense,” White, Jr. said. “We’ve got to start doing that in the first and second quarter.
“We didn’t do a good job of rebounding, either. We were bigger, but they were quicker to the ball. They’ve only won one game all year, so they’re trying to get a win. We played complacent because we’ve got a pretty good record.”
The Lady Owls moved to 13-5, winners of three of their last four games heading into a home rematch against Judson College (Ala.) on Tuesday night.
Tenazhia Hinkson, the team’s lone senior, finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Her and-1 in the third quarter gave the Lady Owls an eight-point lead.
Hinkson is averaging 20.2 points in her last four games. The former Dillard University and Co-Lin Community College forward echoed her coach’s feelings about the team’s recent slow starts and sometimes careless play – she had a game-high nine turnovers.
“Our defensive intensity … it takes us a second,” Hinkson said. “When you play against teams that aren’t as good, it’s harder because they’re in all the right spots at the right time. They’re scrappy and all over the place. But our focus has to better.
“The main thing that would help us in the long run is free throws, something we’ve been struggling with the whole season. We work on it in practice; why we don’t convert in games, I don’t know.”
White, Jr. said it’s important Hinkson continue to lead a team comprised mostly of first-year junior college transfers.
“I think I play a big leadership role on this team,” Hinkson said. “This is my last year – I’m trying to make something of this.”
MUW forward Qiayon Bailey scored 18 and pulled down five boards. Autumn Taylor added 13 and five.
Morris College was paced by Teondra Bringham and Shanekia Johnson, who scored 12 each and combined for nine rebounds and four assists.
Morris men 81, MUW 78
Morris College stunned the MUW Owls on a buzzer-beater to avoid overtime and snap the Owls’ three-game winning streak.
Morris guard Demetrius Knox, who sprinted the length of the court in just 2.8 seconds, launched the shot at full-speed and banked it home as the horn sounded. The improbable heave capped a talismanic performance by Knox, who played a full 40 minutes and finished with a game-high 25 points and four 3-pointers. He added four assists.
Knox’s game-winner came after MUW guard Josh Skinner drained a 3-pointer to tie the game.
“It’s tough,” said Brian Merkel, MUW coach. “You don’t know what to say the guys.”
Merkel said the Owls (4-13) played “zone-tempo” defense on the last possession, and though Jackson was able to get around an Owl defender, he thought his players executed and forced a difficult shot.
“[Jackson] is incredibly quick and got by us a bit, but at the end of the day, if you shoot that 20 times, I don’t know if he makes that again,” Merkel said. “If you asked me if they’d get a running shot, off balance, and basically throw it in underhand, we would have taken it.”
MUW will rue blowing an eight-point lead it had built over Morris (3-10) with just 6:24 left to play. Owls Junior guard Tavonta Jones, a first-year transfer from East Central Community College, sparked the 13-6 run and lead with nine points. Jones finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Jones has scored 15 points or more in five of the Owls’ last six games. He’s shot 50 percent or better in four of their last five games.
“Tavonta has come a long way in terms of what we want him to do on the court,” Merkel said. “When he’s attacking the basket like that, he’s tough to stop.”
MUW senior center DJ Clark registered his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Shon Wright had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Owls.
MUW will host Morris Champion Christian on Friday.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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