1972-1977

ECJC TENN~S TEAM - Members of the East Central J unior College tennis team, currently enjoying the i r season's play under the coaching of Miss Lucille Wood, are, left to

Lyons of Philadelphia and Cheryl Hicks of Hickory; back row, Ricky Bane of Louisville, Alan Baker of Brewton, Ala., Chris Harris of

Decatur, Morgan Brackeen of Decatur, Ricky right: front row, ~ a t h y Pennington of Decatur, Eaves andspeedy Calvert, both of Louisville ' ulie Latham of Mor ton, Kathy Polk of Pictured at right is Coach wood. tarkville, Donna Carter of Noxapater, Diana

LKl'TLE R W K , k3ECATUR SI'UDENTS CEAM--The boys 'tennis team atEast Central leason mdefeaWl' ahis year, under the @aching of Miss Lucille WqOd. Members a the girls and boys teams, ~ i c b r e d fr@m ~ f i tto Fight are: @mnt row) Gail S C ~ I E P ~ Iaiw College, Decatur, finished their

of LittIg: OM^, Pat Donald of Carthage, Jimmy Bwle d CartRage, and Beverly Cibbcla d Hickory, Rmi e Fdrick Cwthee, Mwid BLmt p& Decatur, David M e m o ~ e r of Dwatur, Mike Brown sf of Hudsm d Nmapa*r; back row) Rita

ECJC: One In A I Asst. Sport\ Edit, IIECATI!R - 'I'hem is joy on the Kast C,e@@l Junlor College> ~gaws today : T Tuosda\ txghf. its twelttx t r ~ . the E;C.JC' boys t eam finall! won basketball game. ti 16-polnt flurry earl! in e\ rlning. the F:ast Central glrls had downed

Kast ;\llsblss~ppi ca l k

tlme The Warriors led sc~app l Scootx~ girls tc~am 22-9 at the ten mlnut 76-65 mark, when Scooba 'rho b o ~ s gatno start€ one of ~ t smany att o11t w~th a pondprous twr, at a comeback "" tulnute \cormg drought It Thc 1,ions werfl w ts finally broken by East st conllng up "cnt ral's Rill Tlchrlrll period ot torrid shdo ith a palr of basket followed qurcklv beti~ecn 17 47 and 17 03 &pall) horrld accura( ). r o rn t li c i r 1 11 6!& The 1.1ons were a b ~ e . ~ ~ Warrlors raced otl ~ l t h ti'r&ull w ~ t h ~ n 10 or 12 point 'the winning surge. taking frequently, but would a 16-5 lead'at 12.21 wh,

the f j p t half carried t l ~ t bb~ .Qx& &J?~, v1qtm-y ouq. +qr, ~ 4 , Mississiw Lions, Ea&er In the

lose momentum or rw of gas, and fall back 18 or 20 point deficit East Central Coach Clark used h ~ s ! vviselc. and comme that "We wcrc moving tnl ball better against thc p r e s s . " t h a n w h e ~ lileridian beat his cha 3y 21 points Saturday " b e did a better ]a -unnlng ton~ght," " ia~d Year the cnd ot game. whe'n only spread was left to determined. t he we, came off the East Cer boys, and they begai have a little tun w~t h :ame 1)anlel Breax took )u t l e t pass from r e a m m p . d r l v i n r downcou? f r ~ m the ce stripe. and '$lammed $ ')all through the h q p ,napping thc cords aipc 8eitlng a standlng ovatior ' h ~ setiorts He alsc slapped i v ~ t t l ; chnlcdl. hut 11 dldn'l eallj matter. II \vd",un Kclth P,irkcr !cd Easl 'entral w~th 25 ~nts. ~ h l l ~ Calvin Davis added 22 and Moigdn Bracken totaled 12 For Scooba. J l n Sharp poured m 36, S )'%eal dropped throug and Robert Ivy added 'The East Central 1 won as expected, be1 the shootlng and pas of R~ t aBarber and Ev Render Bender scored 25. un l~c Barber added 17 point: and 1,i nn Kuswll got ar addition,ll 10 Dora Strickland poppcc hcr oiltsidc turnper for 11 po111t5 tor tile I,~onettes uhlle Cathy f'uls dtoppec through hhort turnarounc luml -s for 18 and Debra

'

tour area girls slgned to BB scholarships at EC

East Central Junior Col- lege Warriorette Basketball Coach Lucille Wood has announced that four area high school girls had signed two-year scholarships with the college. She anticipates signing four more freshmen players for next year within the next few weeks, she added. Under the coaching ability of Lucille Wood, the War- riorettes won the Mississippi Junior College Basketball Championship last year and was runner-up to that title this year. Signed as Freshmen play- ers for next year are: Phyllis Leflore of Carthage, Pam Lee of Philadelphia, Charlene Jones of Forest, and Carla Halley of Morton.

A senior at Carthage High School, Miss Leflore was a 5'7" forward on the basket. ball team. She was named All-Leake County, All-Choc. taw Conference, All-Districl 4, and All-Morton Classic. Miss Lee, a student at Neshoba Central Higb School, was a 6'0" centel with a point average of 14.5 per game. She targeted 54% of her field goals and had i rebound average of 10.7. Sht was named All-Choctaw Con ference and All District 4. A 6'1" center from. Fores High School, Charlene Jone! will see action as a participan EAST CENTRAL JR. COLLEGE DECATUR, MISS. in the High School All-Sta Game this August. With a 1 point game average and a 1 point rebound average, sh was selected All-State fa three years, All-South Miss issippi three years, All-Dir trict b for three years, an All-Little Dixie for two years. 5'9" forward Carla Halley of Morton High School will come to East Central with a 15.5 scoring average. She too will play in the All-Star game :n Jackson this August. Miss Ialley has been selected to ~ll-District 6, All-Morton lassie, All-Central Mississ- ppi, All-North Little Dixie, nd was named Most Valur ~ l e Player in the North Littl )ixie. "I have been most pleased dith our selections thus far," tated Coach Wood. "An m hoping to sign four morr ust like these before long," he added. NEWS FROM

Leake Cagers At EC ~ i p r ox ima t e l y half way through stand 5-5 overall and 3-0 i -.- their season, these East Central Conference. Leake County playeBQ Junior College Warriorette on this year's squad, are left t Basketball Players have done 3a fine right: Runnie Hill of Carthaat job this year. With ten games Vickie Cumberland of ~ d i n b u i ~ behind them and thirteen games Jeanette Barnes of Carthage, an ahead of them, the Warriorettes Patti Stone of Edinburg. - - - - I

ECJC FINISHES SECOND IN STATE-The three sophomore starters for the East Central Junior College Warriorette basketball team [I to r ] Diana Lyons of Philadelphia, Julie Lathem of Forkville, and Jeanette Barnes of Carthage pose with their coach, Lucille Wood [left] and the trophy they won as runner-ups to the Mississippi Junior College State Championship Winners of the title last year, the Warriorettes lost this year's title to Gulf Coast Junior College 6-64. --

NESHOBA AND NEWTON PLAYERSjApproximately halfway through their season, these East Central Junior College Warriorette Basketball Players have done a fine job thus far this year. With ten games behind them and 13 games to go, the Warriorettes stand 5-5 overall and 3-0 in the Sduth Conference. Neshoba and Newton County Players on this year's squad are, left tc right: Sheila Ward of Philadelphia, Diana Lyons of Philadelphia, Debbie Pearson of Hicknrv

m'." *,*%'

eake War

With a 6-5 overall average, the and John Burkes of Walnut Grove. Ea s t Centr a1 Junior College Burkes has been the high scorer this Warripr Basketball Team is first half of the Season, averaging preparing for the second half of 28.8 points Per game. Thus far , he their season, which will continue has scored 307 points, for 146 field through the Christmas holidays and goals and 25 free throws Another second semester. Represent Lepke One of the high scorers for the County on the Warrior squad *re, Warrior team is Barker, who scored left to right: Bill Parker of Walnut 65 field goals, 35 free throws, Grove, Joe peavey of Walnut totaling 165 points, with a game ;rove, Keith Moore of Edinburg, point average -~ - of 15.0 points. .- .:, ;. ,. r- . -1-= . - . . '?. .:..'. . ,-- - .

PLAYER OF THE WEEK-East Central Junior College student Diana Lyons, Sophomore from Neshboa Central, won the Player of the Week award for her performance in the Meridian and Holmes Junior College games. She collected 15 points in the Meridian game. Against Holmes she got 15 big defensive rebounds, seven offensive rebounds and collected 31 points. Her point average for the first eight games is 20%.

- - jRepresent Winston, ~ c o t tCounties

Approximately halfway through their season, these East Central Junior C o l l ~ , 1 Warriorette Basketball Playeo have done a fine lob this year. With ten games behindthem and thirteen games ahead of them, the Warriorettes stand 5-5 overall and 3-0 in the South Conference. Winston and kott County players on this year's squad are, left to right: Sherre Rodgeo of Noxapater, Glenda Watson of Louisville, - Julie Lathamof Morton, and Tammie Tadlock of Morton. -- - -- -

MJC: Wins, - y BOBWAGNER ,sst. Sports Editor coach referred to came near the end of the first half.

by Diego Melendez, a lbfooter by Sid Williams and a pair of r ebound i ng b a s k e t s by Williams. Interspersed with Williams' quick six were three freethrows and a basket by MJC, but Williams took his own rebound and dropped it in from short distance at the buzzer for a halftime margin of 41-32, in MJC's fzvor. THROUGHOUT THE FIRST 6:23 of the second half, the teams traded baskets in twos and threes, with Scott driving for baskets, and gaining the largest lead of the night with a pair of free shots at 13:37. That gave the Eagles 51-37, the first of three 14-pointleads. However, East Central's Joe Peavey came alive about that time, reeling off six quick points from various distances. Three long jumpers by Carson Cole, who finished with 10 points, and a freethrow by Elmer Kennedy kept the Warriors at bay. Kennedy snapped in 17 points before leaving late in the game with a sprained ankle. With 8:26 left, Scott came inside, where he may have to stay to beef up the MJC short game, and tipped in somebaly else's mistake to give the Eagles another 14point lead, at 60-46. There were 8:26 left, and a couple more baskets might have put the thing away. JOE CLARK'S WARRIORS wouldn't hear of it though, ancl Redgate praised them for it. "I have to give Joe's boys credit, " Redgate confided. "They didn't gve up." Redgate said the way his team kept opening a lead the ECJC h y s , "should have quit, but they didn't. They deserve credit for that." Some of that credit should go to Walter Porter, who got four of his six points to pull East Central to a 60-52deficit at 7 2 . Also Hal Presley deserves some distinction. He ripped off nine of his 13 points after MJC hit 60, as East Central staged a valiant, but fruitless attempt at a comeback

With 4:47 left in the opening period, Scott stepped to the line for a one-and-one, the Eagles leading 34-24, having pulled away from a slim 26-24 lead. Scott hit both ends of the bonus, and ECJC was in danger of falling deep into a hole. Redgate had an explanation. "If we keep missing shots from here to the wall," he advised, sweeping his arm across the short distance, "we're going to be in a lot of trouble." After Scott hit his free shots, two of a perfect 13-for-13 night for him from the line, East Central drove back on a layup - - -

Larry Scott can handle guard, but he may have to be moved back to forward ,for the Meridian Junior College basketball team. "We stank," said MJC Coach Jim Redgate after Scott had led the Eagles past East Central 78-69 in the opening round of the Meridian Junior College I n v i t a t i o n a l T i p - O f f Tournament. "We had a couple chances to put it away," Redgate said postgame in the confined surroundings of his dressing room office. One of thos :names the - - -

- ALSO GET$ the laurels tor East Central, running off six points in the last " 1 : 33 to bring his total to 24. In the final analysis, it was Scott, with his perfect night - from the line, and 10 field goals for 33 points in his first game at g u a r d , who m a d e t h ~ difference. In the night's first game, Hinds beat Gulf Coast 78-75 and will face MJC tonight at 8:15 for the championship. East . Central and Gulf Coast meet at ' five p.m., and a girls c o n t e e , between the Eaglettes aml . William Carey is scheduled'& 8.30. For Hinds, James B&er had 24, A1 Garrison 20, Willie Husband 18 and Calvin Farmer 11. For Gulf Coast, T. Patterson scored 18, R. Washington 10 an(' D. Davis 12. --

WARRIOR BASKET

Houma, La., Keith Parker of Neshoba Cen-,-;: tral, John Lathem of Morton, and ally‘ Griffin of Philadelphia. The team is under- the coaching direction of Joe Clark.

and the high schools in which they played ball are, from left to right: (1st row) Robert Ashford of Louisville, RussellBrooks

of Decatur,

,# n - ~ ~ t A l . Morgan

ECJC Girls Win Gulf Tourney

! The East Central Junior College Warriorettes returned to Decatur this past week end after defeating the Gulf Coast Junior College girls' team and winning the Gulf Coast tournament. In tour- - nament play, the Warriorettes first defeated the ulkner Junior College girls 75-45, and then went to beat Gulf Coast 78-66 in the championship me Saturday night. This defeat was a big upset, Gulf Coast, who finished second in the nation : t year. Warriorettes and the high schools in '

Hicks, Hickory; Rita Barber, Hickory; Lynn Russell, Decatur; Brenda Smith, Beulah Hubbard; (2nd row) Manager Bobbie Moudy, Neshoba Central; Barbara Harrison, Beulah Hubbard; Donna Carter, Noxapater; Brenda Harlston, Scott Central; Regina Rogers, Morton; (3rd row) don^ Pearson, Decatur; Elise Pepper, Leake Academy; Terri Tucker, Leake Academy; Evelyn Bender, Newton; and team coach Lucille Wood. The Warriorettes will play their fiiast home game a t Decatur Tuesday night, December 10, against Pearl River - -- -

which they pla row) Darlene

awamba Slaps A Couple Losses 0 s ECJC By BOB WAGNER The one thing he didn't push early in the first half. Lsst. Sports Editor know was how to stop Through the first eight DECATUR - Joe Clark Kenny McCaster, and as a minutes, he scored 12 of didn't want to know the r e s u l t C l a r k ' s E a s t IJC's 14 pomts, finishing f i r s t n ame s of t h e Centrzl Junior College with 29, high for both I Itawamba players. Warriors lost to the IJC teams. "I already know too Indians Thursday 70-58. JoiningMcCaster in the much about them," Clark "In the evening's id. 6:t + game, the Itawamba + 4 + downed the ECJC s 78-68. WYS The Itawamba b tot (9) ITAWUMU (70) f9 fi v 'g fi v jumped out to a 4 o 8 kbrn 13 3 29 lead in a slow metho - 0 0 ow 8 117- ,G first half. The tea Calvin Davis led the Warriors with 17 points, while Keith Parker added 13 and Bill Tichnell popped in 11. In the Girl's contest, East Central, dith playmaking guard Rita Barber lost to illness, fell behind 45-29 at h g l f t i m ~ and ~n1 1 1dn" Cynthia Birks Itawamba with 26 and an added 10 came from Belinda and Nanci Murphee. Evelyn Bender to scoring honors night with 31 1 ECJC, while Lvr bided 10.

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ECJC ALL-STATE TEAM MEMbtHS- East Central Junior Collegeat Decatur recently placed t v ~ o basketball players on the girls All-State team, and two on the honorable mention team. East Central Girls also won the State Junior College Cham- pionship this month, with East Central's Renee Willis oi Philadelphia receiving the Most Valuable Player Award. Pic- tured from left to right are Rita Gibbon of Hickory, Renee WiUis of Philadelphia, both All-State; and Annette Duncan oi -'iladelphia and Jo Munn of Decatur, both Honorable Mentmn. - - -

ECJC GIRLS WIN GULFCOASTTOURNEY rhe East Central Junior College Warriorettes returned to Decatu this past weekend after defeating the Gulf Coast Junior College girr team and winning the Gulf Coast Tournament. In tournament play, t& Warriorettes first defeated the Faulkner Junior College girls 75-45, anc *en went on to beat G d Coast 78-66 in the championship gaml s t u r d a y night. This defefit was a big upset for Gulf Coast, wh( F h e d second in the nation last year. Warriorettes and the higl hools in which they played ball, are, from left to right: (1st row arlene Davis--Beulah Hubbard, Cheryl Hicks--Hickory, Rit, t Barber--Hickory, Lynn Russell--Decatur, Brenda Smith--Beulal bbard; (2nd row) Manager Bobbie Moudy--Neshoba Central rbara Harrison--Beulah Hubbard, Donna Carter--Noxapater, Brend, arlston-rScott Central, Regina Rogers--Morton; (3rd row) Don @earson--~ecatur; Elise Pepper--bake Academy, TerriTucker-Le # ademy, Evelyn Bender--Newton, and team coach Lucille Wood. Thr arriorettes will play their first how game at Decatur Tuesday night -- -

PREPARE FOR BASKETBALL SEASOP Making preparations for their first hom basketball game December 10 are these E "t: Central Junior College cheerleaders, from le to right: (front center) Head Cheerleader Debra Pierce of Beulah Hubbard; (2nd row)' Connie Gordon of Forest, Pat Murphy of . Newton, and Becky Burlces of Forest; (3rd ropv) Nina Harvey of Morton, Deree Parks of Philadelphia, and Carmen Wright

,.at i -

Carthagc

' 'CHAMPIONSHIP TALK - East Central Junior College women's Coach Lucille Wood talks to some of her players during a timeout Saturday when they defeated Itawamba Junior College 86-77 for the state championship. It was the Warriorettes' second

win over IJC, having beaten the Lady Indians a week earlier in the North Division finals. Itawamba was defending state chamnion ECJC, which won't advance to any further competition, end ane Tannehill Photc , - i .- 1 _L

esswrIbs.. 8 lntinued From Page One was killed. At East Central, Howard wa, odtstanding on the courts an( won all-state honors but it wa, at Mississippi College that hi, exploits became legendary. He became the school': highest scoring player il history when he poured in 1,421 points during his career there As a senior he set schm records by scoring 774 point: and connecting on 240 of 291 free throws. During his final season, h 1955, he won special recognition for Mississippi College when he compiled an average of 33 points per game, fourth best in the nation. He got his master's degree at Mississippi College and after a period of military service, he coached five years a t Pelahatchie. Be moved to Hinds Junior College a t Raymond in 1961 to become physical education teacher, the position he held at the time of his accident at the intersection of Highway 21 and the G m Springs Road. Howard's mother, Mrs. Othl Sessums, died while he was i student at East Central. Hi father passed away in 1964, tw~ weeks following the death o his widow. On March 2, the thre children, the In-laws, and , large group of other relative are making plans to attend thl ceremonies at Miss. Colleg when Howard, along with thre others, will be inducted into th Hall of Fame. In the group will be Kevb and Kim and Karole; Mr. anc Mrs. Britt, although she ha had surgery and is partiall! paralyzed; Howard's twc brothers, J. D. Sessums and &: wife of Augusta, Ga.; an( Kirby Sessurns of Taunton

DIANA LYONS

ChosenAs All-State Diana Lyons. East Centri 1 Junior College Sophomor from ~ e s h o b acentral Hig School, was chosen to the firs team at Mississippi Junio College All-State. She als tceived this honor as eshmen. Shewas the south's top poir maker (23.6) and leadin rebounder (17.3) in the Stat and Region 7, which is mad up of players fromMississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. At East Central she was chosen Most Improved Playe her freshman year and Bes Defensive Player her sophc more year. Miss Lyons playe a key role in East Central'- winning the Junior College State Ehampionship her fresh man y-r and second place i the State her sophomore year She is the daughter of MI and Mrs. Cleo Lyons of t b Stallo community - .- A -

Girls North

East Central Junior a t Decatur bas been selected as the site of 'the North Division girls has- ketball c h amp i o~ s h i y tc ,nament, Warriorette Coac 'Lucille Wood has announced The tournament, wk r uns from Feb r ua r y zl through 22, is composed o ' t eams from Northeast N o r t h w e s t , H o l m e s +Ztawamba, East Mirsissipp land host East Central. *. At this date, the bracket! have not been set up, bu early favorites are Ztawamb; and Northeast. Both team! defeated the Warriorettes or the road. The top two teams of thif single elimination t ou r n e j will advance to the overal &ate championship t o br held February 28 and Marc] 1 a t a s i t e ye t t o bt I determined.

ECJC, Scooba Brace For North Tournament

Starts Monday .) At Holmes JC I By BO KING F~ist Central and East [ississippi Junior Colleges enter ieir final moments of a long askctbail season next week 1ic.n the two travel to Holmes I unior College in Goodman to y>f.esent the Meridian area in ie North Division Junior Col- >e;e basketball tournament cginning Monday night I Xeither team has f a r e d well iis season, but as of late Ea s t [ississippi has become hot, win- i~:g six of its last nine games, t'~erwinning only one in its first 3 Close Defeats

East Central, on the other ~ n d . played fair ball throughout le vear but only inanaged five In. against 13 losses, but many F these defeats came by only a I P ~ P baslret or two. Itawanba plays Mississippi .-elfa in the opening game of the 111rney Monday at. 5:l.i. :Iloa.ed by the East Central vs. olines contest a t 7:15. East lississippi takes on h'orthesst t 9 o'clocli, while Northwest, ie highly regarded favorite in ourney, draws a bye. East Central and Holmes have attlec! three times this year ith Holmes winning all three. 'ut in the last match, tiolmes nd had to pull out a three-point I2y with two seconds showing 1 the clock to win, 80-87. "I think if we can stay on the ew:ds with them we'll have a ood chance of winning the i.me." Coach Joe Clark of East cntral said. "Right now we're : real good physical condition nd : think t'he boys are eoinlr p there ready to play."

ECJC WARRIORS - Seated: Pat Donald, John McFar- land, and Mike Horne. Kneeling: Danny Gressett and Wad- dell Wash. Standing: Kenneth Russell, Cecil Muse, Keith Everett, Steve Harber, and Dennis Walton. Not pictured: David Shurnake. -Staff Phntn --

Used Psycholo( 1 Clark used a bit of ps! , chclogical coaching on his boys /and that just may be what it /takeswhen East Central tries to /beat Holmes on the Bulldogs home court. / "I told the boys to stay loose ;acd not get tensed un," Clark /explained, "because when we go ] u p there we're ex,wted to lose the game. That way we'll be imuch more relaxed and I believe we'll play better ball." Rehunding bas been a prbbr- Im at East Central since the season's beginning as only one player - 6-5 John McFarlanA has the weight to cope wit the opposition cm the boards. "Our other boys just dm have the weight and strenab t fight tor those rebounds," Clark stated, "but if they can pull off , a few I think we'll stay with thzm (Holmcs)." Starting Five McFarland will be starting at center, while I k e Horn, a 6-3 forward, and Cecil Muse, a 6-2 forward will be outside. Dennis Walton, a 5-8 guard and t i e team's only starting sophomore, and David Shumake, a 6-1 guard, will be out front as the play-makers. East Mississippi's hopes seel; to be much brighter than those of East Central's since the Jons' opp3nenL since the tw are playing on neutral grounds I.I~ at-o because of the Lions' late winning ways. Coach Iceyes Currie has finally put his boys together and with the combined rebounding strength of Andrew Richardson, a 6-5 forward, and Michael Tucker. a 6-5 forward, the J s seem to h&e the needed t + control. 1 --

; Cage Tourney V:: - East Central Junior bill host the North half * q" Mississippi Junior COW@ Women's Basketball Tdnr nament February 20 21 an b u t h halfs. The two fiklists frm each division will meet February 28 and March 1 for the State playoff. The Junior College league censists of 6 North and 6 South teams. Those playing in the North are: East Central, Holmes, Eas t Mississippi, Northeast, Itawamba, and Northwest. Teams in the South !: Meridian, Gulf Coast, - -arl River, Southwest,Co-Lin and Hinds. East central's team ma&& of lavers from NewJon. Scott, :%his is the first : M e has divided bent into the N

Lealce Neshoba, and Winsr,o~ Counties ended their regulai season play with a 116 record Concerning the coming t o m e n t and East Central's chances, Miss Wood made the following observations, "We have had a toughtime since the holidays with sickness, reg&u starter Rita Barber fron Hickory has missed 3 weeks a play and still not up to par. Wc have a winning attitude and i: all our players can get beck a full speed, we could be contender."

i - Ek East benrral Splir! With Holmes Cager

WDECATC'R - Ea s t bn t r a l Junior College split a pair of basketball matches wlth Holmes here Pursday night ' East Central's girls whipped Holmes 61-44. Holmes' boys blasted East Central 82-63 East Central's girls. l e d n g 29-20 at halftime. got 22 points frorn Evelyn Bender and 11 from Rita Barber. Holmes was led by Sandra Blaylock with 17 East Central's boys. donn 43-25 at halftime. were paced by P '

Parker with 45 and Cali Dai ih with 10 Iiolmes a2 led b> I-Ierbert Wilsc with 19. Foczt Dyer wit 18, Perry Ntt with 11 ar Junior Reese wit11 10 East Central's boj now 1-19 overall and 1- in North Division pla! take osl Northwest Junior College Monday night in the opening round of the north tournament a t Itauamba Junior College. East's girls. nith an 11-6 overall and 4-6 divisional mark, pld\ host to the north dibisional pk :t week bl- HOLIIE5 144 -- -a BLa~lffk W r h 8 Pam H a d * I Ikhlre Wass S@gh& 2, Ikbra Strahm 7 a rye. Barber I1 Do* Carter 6 ( be1 C bark^ Harnson 2 Ikm Parks L Radgcn 2, IBoma P r m U Bol S Wmb 1821 - Par\ &I1 11. J W 2 Fmn [her 18 lmor R e s t 10 Her1 Wilun 19, t\a\ne H u b 4. Ha Flranch 6 Js brn* 6 Laue Jenltm Z WLLc Krm8.a Uillle HI* 2 ECJC 16.31 - Russell Brmh 2 MI brt.keo 2 Cal\ln &\IS I% BIH Tirkl ., .L.. , .

At ECJC DECATUR - The Misqissippi 4ssociation for Extrarnurel Ac- ivities for College Women an- Bounces that the State Junior Z o1 l e g e Womens basketgall ournament will be held her& at East Central Junior ColIege' on , March 2-3. Lucille Wood, head of,,fhe Physical Education ~ e p a r t me n t 2nd woillens coach at East, ten- ral. will serve as tourni&nt director. Nine of the Mississippi Juliior Colleges belong to MAEACW and are expected to ~articipate. T h o s e ;!aying are: Gulf Coast, Pearl River, Hinds, Copi- ah-Lincoln. Southwest, Holmer, Meridian, East Mississippi and East Central. Final seeding for the toma- ment will be made next '.FYtbn- day.

Blount Named To All State Basketball Team David Blount of Decatur

set by h ~ s father and t ~ . brothers a s he planstoentf Ole Miss this fall to con tinue his education. Davi is the grandson of Mr! Arwin Turner of Phila-

has been selected for the Mississippi Junior College a l l state basketball team.

This

outstanding ECJC

sophomore

averaged 11.9

points pe r game for two seasons and had a 14.1 average during this past cophomore season. David's f r e e throw accu- acy i s way above average -s he sank 73 out of 96 f r e e throws this season f o r 76 pe r cent of his shots. During his two years, he made 108 out of 154 f r e e throws for 70 per cent. David had an outstanding high school c a r e e r at Decatur High School where - he playeu UI- senior year that racked up 27 wins against four losses, taking home a trophy in almost every tournament. He was a three-year ,etterman and his leader- ship did much toward the ~utstanding record of 75 vins against 8 losses in a hree-year period. He parti- cipated with hls team in two South Mi s s i s s l pp~ State tournaments in 1970-71. During his senior year he received the Outstand- ng offensive Boy Player Award at the Beulah Hub- bard Invitational Tournament in 1971. In commenting on David's high school c a r e e r , his coach, Kenneth Clarke, said that he was the floor leader of the 1971 team that chalked up 18 straight wins and an overall 27-4 season r e - cord. David is the son of Mr. md Mrs. Clayton Blount )f Decatur. His father was a football standout at Ole Miss and David plans to foilow the family tradition

d e l ~ h i a .

DAVID BLOUNT

The first game of the evening saw the Lionettes of East Mississippi edge b y t h e H o l m e s Bulldogettes. The first half was close all the way as the m s t either team was ahead was seven, by Hohes. bEms stretched this to 24-13 and held a 26-19 lead . before two baskets b ' w & " S t r i c ~ a n d and #d$ --

by Cathy Puls Gonettes withln one

By WILL PRICE Correspondent ECATUR - Ea s t ississippi's and East al's girls advanced e second round of the rth Mississippi Junior tourmment by victories over s 59-58 a n d est 88-33 here T h u r s d a y n i g h t , ,mpeetively.

Wasson ~ u t ~ o l m e s b% in the lead by one. Hol led by as many as with a llttle over minutes to go at 56-51 b baskets by Susie H a M e Debra Deason and ' a three-point play by Puls put the Lionettes ahead

'nt

at the halfway r ~ d l k , 26-25. a The second half started the same way, each team swapping baskets before Rhonda Reeves put East Mississippi in front 2928 only to see it tied with 13

Tina Rnka&\

T. J Speights all w& S

The second game s,ia"wj,, Ea s t Cent ra l de f ea t I rthwest and run its I cord to 12-6 while ended up with a

7-12 record. I

to run completely Warriorettes were with the game as jE; jumped out to an 8-0 Lad on two baskets by Eve&n Bender and two by Do&a

finally racked and tied -- 111 on a basket *rbara Hayes. @Bothteams then trade &kets as it was tie @ht more times durh th$ first half with the la! m e being 28-28 befo~ &at Central pulled awa to qf irst half lead of 47% bast Central continlie pul away in the f gang of the second na and at one time held p h as a 17 - ~o i F i e a game was neve ly in doubt from the on a s t h e c l o s gg Northwest could come wa six before Bender h$ tw more baskets to bring th naargn back to ten. Leading the way fq East Central and high {a the game was Bender mt 37 followed by Lun 8ussell with 14, Carte w d Rita Barber 11. H~gh for Northwest the 24 pouts of TherG Rodgers. Also in do figures were ids I?! with 19 and Hayes witk Tonight's action na No r t hea s t and E a s Mississippi meeting 4 6 : $0 f o l l o w e d b*, I t awamb a . and, Mtral at 8.* ,

under the present junior college setup. Bender had 26, Lyons 23, Jeanette B m e s 20 and Julie Latham 10 for ECJC Itawarnba was led by Charlotte Jackson's 26 while Jeanie Layd had 24 and Lisa Hooker 10.

Noxapater's Donna Carter. In the final five minutes Bender got 10 points including six in the final minute, to ease the Warriorettes to the final margin. Talking about Bender after the game, Wood said," She wants to be modest. She's kind of nervous at the first, but once she gets scoring, she is alright." Bender finished her career at East Central with 1,081 points in 42 games, but the sweetest points she ever scored were the final bucket at the buzzer. That insured the title, the first East rontrsl had won

By BILLY TURNER Star Sports Writer ueCATUR - Super Game No. 1 was termed an upset when East Central Junior College women's team defeated Itawamba, the defending champion in the North Division tournament. Saturday night, when East Central won the women's overall Mississippi Junior College title in Super Game No. 2, it couldn't be called an upe t anymore. Things don't happen like that twice in a row. East Central was crowned the Overall State champion by doing awav with the Itawarnba ~ & a n ~ on the East It took overcoming a case of nerves and foul trouble for the arriorettes to do the job. They ~ d , though, outpointing :awarnba 19-10 in the last five ~inutesafter the contest was td one last time at 67. Evelyn Bender, surely the ost valuable player in the state, scored 10 points during that stretch when the game was still very much in doubt. She had begun very slowly, because as she said," I was just trying to get something started. I guess I was a little nervous in the first half." With Bender getting only eight, on a 25-point-per game average the Warriorettes turned to the inside work of ana Lyons. Lyons, from rililadelphia's Neshoba Central, got inside of the Itawamba an-to-man for 13 first half ints. That propelled East Central a 4341 lead at the half, after me Warrioretts had been up by as much as 10. " Lyons, who never played before her junior year in high school, picked up her fourth foul in the game with 12 minutes left, and her leaving the close game would have possibly doomed the East Central chances. But Lucille Wood, the ECJC coach, merely switched her zone defense to put Lyons on the outside where she remained in the contest until its end. Itawamba fought back from being down by five early in the final half to take the lead at 55-54, The Indians moved ahead by as many as five before East c3--4--,l moan itc fins1 mn"p Lad; !ntral court 86-77.

~ ~ s r ~ m b . cn)

EEJC I(*)

fg fi Q 13 026 10 424

Player Bm&r LymS Carter Latham Barns

fg fi tp P(.~er

9 8 2 6 J a c h 10 323Loyd 2 3 7 Hodrer 5 0 10 Murphy 8 4 ~ w a r r e o '

5 010 1 0 2 1 0 2 2 0 4

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ITAWAMEA Fouls: ECK: 18. iXZI.

LED WARRIORE'ITES - East Central Junior College women's Coach Lucille Wood holds the triophy and star player Evelyn Bender holds the ball that the Warriorettes used in winning the state championship Saturday night at Decatur. Bender scored 2% points in the team's S 7 7 win over defending state champion Itawamba. - . . * . _ . ,. . a . - .. . . , . .I. :,h./r : , , <. .. . . ~ < ~ < . . ,. :,.'.I ' ... - . .;x .: 3'. .&<'A

KETBALL SlGNEE - Karen Hicks, augh t eh f Mr . and Mrs. Glenn Hicks r y , recently signed a basketball ip to East Central Junior College.

Wood, right, girls basketball coach at East Central. Miss Hicks has been an outstanding basketball player and student at Hickory. She was selected as All South Half in 1975 and as

1

Lookine on are. Richard Harris, left, . All Cherokee Conference this year.

asketball coach a; Hickory, and Miss Lurilla

East . Central Trys To hold

JACKSON - East Central's Warriors and Northwest's Rangers have the chance to break a three-team logjani at the top of the North Division Mississippi Junior College Cvnference standings in separate games highlighting the week's JC menu. The two squads are currently deadlocked with the defending north chan~pion Trojans of Mississippi Delta, all three carrying a 2-1 division slate. The Trojans a r e 3-1 overall, while East Central and Northwest are 2-3 in all games. East Central travels to ~ooneville Saturday night for an 8 p.m. date with Northeast's Tigers. while Northwest hosts the dangerous &st Mississippi Lions at Senatobia a half hour earlier, Delta treks down to the south division to take on the undefeated Jones

the north lead solo if the Eags were riot rrrenlbers of the Rebel loop. Durwood Grailarn's Eagles have polished off three straight north foes while unable to get into the south division win colu~nn.And Hinds will have even more difficulty erasing that goose egg against Pearl River; 3-1. .' Delta, with only 34 points allowed, will be putting the singiest defense in the conference on the line against Jones, which has the most explosive offense in the state with 171 points, or alr~iost 35points scored per game. Jones' 5- 0 ledger is the lone remaining unblemished record in the league. On the other end of the sheet, Southwest will bdtrying to do something about the only totally blemished ledger when the Bears, 0-5,

Wildcats at Ellisville.

Three Thursday night 7:30 p.m. games oDen host the Co-Lin Wolves, 1-2-1- the week's ticket: winless Southwest hosts*co- l,in at sunimit, Pearl River invades (;ulf coast has tile week off to recuperate against the 2-2-1 Holmes Bulldogs. fro111having its 22-game win streak broken, by Pearl River last Saturday. ~ ~ to tackle the ~ , ~ ~ ~ ~ d 1tawarnba is at (;oodman to play Holmes.

Itawan~ba, Suffering a disappointing start

, ~ d ~ wishbone-T and aft" being tagged pre-season co-favorites in the north, will take a 1-3 record into Goodman

.Jones a r e back Terry Goodin captured the i~idividuals(uring lead with his one TD last

into a share of the

East Central

past Pearl River's 1.. B.

I,srth lead by

previously

week,

27-0, last ~ h ~ ~ ~ d ~ ~ , while ~ ~ ~

t Hu11wbk.Goodin now has 44 ~narkers,while Bullock. unproductive for the past two weeks. h ~ ~

~

~

a 16-7 triumph over Northeast.

kept pace

rernnins at. 42.

. . 'uall '

Hinds. 0-2 in the sout

I

Morgan Inks With ECJC John Morgan, outstanding Carthage High athlete, has ,igned with Eas t Central Junior College for a full ;cholarship in basketball. Shown with Coach Jer ry i ressett, Morgan has lettered in four sports for the past wo years, was All-Choctaw, All-County, and All-District 'or the past two vears: and made All-North Mississippi in

By BILLY TURNER E Carrcs~onttent

Meridim's Earl Eeolis and ~ & v e McWmams hit for a Basket- apiecein the finalminuteof play last night alt the Meridian Gym as the Junior College Eagles edged the Watriors of East Cen- tral, 71-69. McWilliarnshit a fallinglayupwith 55 seconqsremaining to be followedby Lewis' tip in of a stray shotwith 50 ~ c o n d s left to ice the game. Meridian posted its fourth win in a row, t i e most for the season, and pushed its record to 12.9. East Central gave the Eagles fits in the ophing moments. Froma 4-4 tie with 15 minutes left in the initial hqf the Warriors spurted to a 10.5-lead. i, BUT BUTCH LEGGETT, who hit a season highi26 points, got hot to put in four points and LarryWatkinsadded a $umper to set the Eagles on top by one, 11-10. \ After a Sonny Jackson bucket gave the Eagles atthreepoint edge, the teamsplayed on even t m s untilMeridian went up by six with 350 left in the half on a three point pla* by Steve McWilliams. 1 But a free throw by David Blount and two buckets bv John McFarland put ~ast-central ahead at the half, 3534. - Meridian hit the first threebasketsof the secondhalf and were off and running. Leggett continued his long range assault with his two buckets. . TheEagles continued to push pressure on EC. With 11minutes left the Eaales led bv seven. 49-42. but McFarland led the EC behind bv one with nine minutes left. warriors ourof the wads with a rampageof six points. ThB put I NOW IT WAS THE Warriors time to burn the cords with basketballs. A bucket by Kenneth Russell and a three point play by Billy Wilbanks put them up by four. \ After buckets by McWilliarnk and Leggett had tied the game 6 the battleaf nervesthat thegames between these two teams bail down tQ began. In the nest seven minutes, seven ties occuredi, East Central got out to a four point leadwith four minutes left! 71 But then out ief a mire of rustiness that seemed to hold the . Meridian guards, came Larry WaWns. W a h s hit two free throws then whipped the ball out of the hands of a Warrior, caught the resulting pass fromWillie Wade and layed it in for the tieing tally. With 2:43 remainingLeggett softly layed in two freethrows to make it 67-65. A BASKET BY McFARLdNO tied it and t h e ~ Lewis and McWilliams did theit coolness thing. McWiUiams must be beginning to growon theWarriors for it was his shot in the last ten seconds that defeated them earlier this year. Meridian next takes on Clarke Junior College at Clarke Saturday night. Meridian shot 41 per cent to the Warriors' dismal 35 per cent. Leggettalso led the Eagleswith 11 rebounds en route to his best night of the year. I o 12 11 OnBasketSbyMikeHorneandRusseil. 2

a

EAGLES' SONNY JACKSON Closely Guarded By Central

EAST CENTRAL 169)

MERIOIIINfII)

FG FT PF TP ; 30 ; 2;

FG FT PF TP

o o

John McFdrland Larry McFar,altd Oav~d Blount Kenncth Russell . 51llyW~lbanks Ronn~cTadlock Mtke Hrirne

3

3

Oscar Coleman Earl Lewis Butt,, Legpet, WllitcWadc Larry Watkins

1;

o 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 5.8

o 5 5

4 4

11

SleveMcW~liiarns Soriny Jackson

1

0 0 7.12

1

1

2

2

1

Totali

31

33

18

Totals

15 69

East Central Junior College basketball (righ coach Joe Clark discusses game plans arts with his two team managers, Don educati Shepard (left) and Glenn Sanderson

MIKE HORNE Home Signs .! Basketball

Mi s s i s s i p s i Co l l e asketkll coach James Stute) Men announced igning d Mike Horne I Zortm and East Cent unior College to a grant-in- askethll &olarship. Horne, a 64,185 lb. forwar@ ?tter@dtwo years at East Ientral after a fine high school s e e r at Morton. At ECJC he sttered for two years, veraging 15 points a game as freshman and 16.6 points per ame this past season. East Central finished with a 0.14 record for '72'73. The Choc signee wan the lewey Tullos Award in B Uistriet Six and the Spa* manship Award while at ff 0rt~ll. A tog student academically, ,Isrne glans on majoring in comrnerical art at qississippi Coilege. 'i-r-v - - - - _. - t

- County Players

ivision Tournament a t East (Decatur); , and Feb. ,28- March 1- State play-offs. Neshoba, players, from left to right, are, (front) Regina Rogers of Morton, I Leake, Winston and Scott county : Brenda Haralston of Forest, Donna Carter of Noxapater; (back) Manager Bobbie Moudy of : Philadelphia, E& Pepper of Car- thage, Terri Tuuker of Carthage and f'nnph Lucille Wood of Louis_vil_le_.- __

1 ' I ;er a very successful opening half ' & basketball season, the East Central Juni0.r College Warriorettes ill begin second semester plaf on Thursday, January 9, against Holmes Junior College (there). Other gajnnes for the Warriorettes include: Jan. 11- Meridian; Jan. 14-- East Miss.; J an . 24- I t awamba ; J an . 25- Northeast; Jan. 31- Co-Lin; Feb. & Northwest; Feb. 11- East Miss.; Feb. 13- Hohnes; Feb.-ZO, 21, 22-

* EC Takes Girls' State Title -Jr ,

for the North Divisiin Championship. Ita- wamba was the defending state champion. High scorers during Saturday night's game, coached b y Lucille Wood [front left] were Evelyn \\Snoopy" Bender [No. 201 of Lawrence, Diana Lyons [No. 211, of Phila- delphia, and Jeanette Barnes [No. 321, of Carthage.

The East Central Junior College Warriorette Basketball Team woli the State Junior College Championship Saturdaynight during the State tournament finals held at Decatur. The Warriorettes defeated Itawarnba Junior College 86-77 for the title. It was the Warrioretfes' second straight win over IJC, haviizg beaten the Lady - Indians a week _I earlier

BB Winners

r h e Leake Boys row) Corbert Hollingsworth, Van Ba ske t ba l l T e am won t he In- Lewis, Ga r y LeBl anc , Tommy tramural Championship this month Kuntz; ( b a c k r ow) Ra y f o r d on the Ea s t Central Junior Colle - Wilbanks, Donnie Scrivner, Bobby campus a t Decatur. Members of t.-- Wilbanks, Carl Peoples, and Bill team, from left to right, are: (front Sharp. - County

Wurriorettes JC Champions East Central Junior College women's basketball team was crowned Overall I State Champions Saturday night a t Decatur after the Warriorettes defeated Itawamba 86-77. It took overcoming a case of nerves and foul trouble for the Warriorettes to do the job. They did, though, out- pointing Itawamba 19-10in the last five minutes after the contest was tied one last time at 67. Evelyn Bender scored 10 points during that stretch when the game was still very much in doubt. She had begun very slowly, because as she said," I was just trying to get something started. I guess I was a little nervous in the first half." With Bender getting only eight, on a 25:point-per game average the Warriorettes turned to the inside work of Diana Lyons. Lyons, from Philadelphia's Neshoba Central, got inside of the Itawamba man-to-man for 13 first half ~oints. That propeiledEast Central to a 43-41 lead at the half, after the Warriore~tes had been up by as much as 10. Lyons, who never played before her junior year in high school, picked up her fo-irth foul in the game with 12 minutes left, and her leaving the close game would have possibly doomed the East Central chances. But Lucille Wood, the ECJC coach, merely switchedher zone defense to put Lyons on the outside where she remained in the contest until its end. Itawamba fought back from being down by five early in the final half to I take the lead at 5554. The Indians moved ahead by as many as five before East Central made its final move. The Warriorettes took back the lead for the final time with 6:18 on a bucket by ~oxapa t er ' <~onna Carter. In the final five minut& Bender got 10 points includingsix in the final minute, to ease the Warriorettes to the final margin. Talking aboutBender after the game, Wood said," She wants to be modest. She's kind of nervous a t the first, br-" once she gets scoring, she is alright

L - - 1 ' 1:":-

-J In Final

By BILLY TURNER Star Sports Writer SCOOBA - There are many ways to win a basketball game. Eior all concerned, the best way is not to blow a %point lead, go into overtime without your two Wst players, then rally at the free throw line. In the Mississippi Junior College Women's North Division Tournament here Monday night, East Central did all of those things and still won The Warriorettes defeated Northeast Junior College's second-seeded Tigerettes !N-85 to enter tonight's championship game against Itawamba, which beat Holrnes W.

With five minutes left in regulation the Warriorettes led by 10, but the lead slowly decreased as East Central continued i t s pattern of mistakes after running to a 48-36 lead at the half over the favored Tigerettes. Then with a 73-67 lead and 3:25 left, the top gun for East Central, Evelyn Bender, fouled out of the game. That did more f o r the comeback effort Northeast had made since early in the first.half than anything imaginable. All Bender did in this second half was this: when the tight Northeast Press was broken, Bender did it; Bender was the sole Warriorette with the hot hand, though it's said she always holds the hot hand; she scored 16 of the 19 points East Central scored in the final half to the point she left. But it was all over for the incredible g i r l . Even a masterful layup fired over the top of her head as she was turned completely towards her opponents basket had to be forgotten. East Central had two options; quit and go home for the year, or fight back against the pressure. Already in the second half it had lost its top big girl, Diane Lyons to fouls. Now Bender! For the next three minutes it appeared the Warriorettes had decided to quit. Northeast, which had already beaten ECJC twice this season, tore apart the desperate Warriorettes with a press that closed the Tigerettes to within four with 50 seconds left. East Central missed still another time, and Northeast continued 5 t s clutch shooting with a bucket by Belinda Brown on a sweeping hook from the left side. Another Warriorette mistake, and Northeast came down with a try for a tie. The try was good

with 15 seconds left, by Debbie Strickland from 10 feet. East Central got one more shot at the bucket, but it fell short, so the two went to overtime tied at 79. No t m a n y g a v e t h e Warriorettes credit. Playing in the home of their grestest rival, East Mississippi Junior College, with the certain thought of the blown lead, East Central still had something left. Northeast got its first lead since midway through the first period with the first bucket of the overtime. ECJC tied it before Northeast struck one last time for the lead at 83-81. Enter Jeanette Barnes. A slight talent compared the flashy "Snoopy" Bender, Barnes burned in four free pitches and one bucket to push East Central out to a lead it couldn't lose. The lead that had been erased so carelessly, began developing on the back of Bender and Lyons. Lyons got 11 and Bender 13 in the opening period as the Warriorettes jumped out to a 44-24 lead at one point. But Lyons, a slender but very good rebounder, picked up her fourth foul with a couple of minutes left in the half. With her resting on the bench, Northeast made a run. The Tigerettes cut it to 12 by the half, at 48-36. Bender led East Central into the finals with 29 points, while Julie Latharn and Barnes had 20 each. Brown had 22 and Mary Lindsay, Judy Ezzell and Janet Doom had 17 each for Northeast. EMI ccntr6l (*I ~ ~ ( 8 5 ) Player Ig ft tp Player fg Bender I4 1 29 Stncklarrl ft lp ' 0 6 L Y ~ 6 1 13 Churchlull 0 6 Carter 1 4 6Doom 5 17 Pearson 1 0 2 Em11 8 I17 LaUlam 9 Z28Bmm 11 0 2 l Bamff 8 420Lud: 5 717 To(nls 3 S I I ~ T d P l S U L I ScoreBy Qwters EClC * 1- NElC 43 Cd5 Fouls E U C 24 W C 27

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