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runner-up honors in NJCAA at Salina, Kansas V1verette made two free

game-lugh 23 pomts, mcluding a 12- of-12 effort at the free-throw hne. "I've been shooting about 85 percent. so that's pretty normal," Wilson said. The 29-3 Lady Warriors, who had a 22-game win streak snapped, never stayed in sync for any extended period of time. ECCC fin– ished w1th 17 turnovers and was out– rebounded 44-35. ECCC shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) from the floor and only 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the free-throw !me. "Maybe the tnp was still in our legs." ECCC head coach Brad Hodge said. "We never could get our turung down aU day. Nervousness or whate\·er it was. we JUSI dido 't perfonn the way we're capable of performmg. We've had those games before, but today we just couldn't make stops when we weren't perfonrung offen– sively. "Every t1me we'd gave them a few punches, they'd find a way to hit us back. They'd stop our runs. That's a well-coached team. Well-coached teams will do that to you." ECCC scored the game's first four points, only to have Three Rivers Tally the next seven. ECCC trailed by as mnny as six points in the first halfbefore Knstin Chaney tted the game at 23 with a three-pomt play w1th 6:53 to go in the balf. The teams swapped the lead 10 t1mes over a four-nunute span before Three Rivers closed the half with a 5-0 run to carry a 40-36 lead mto halftime. A three-pomt play by Chaney with 16:46 left gave the La~y Warriors a 44-42 lead. "'

Leading 46-44 on ~·pair of Kotreece Bender free throws with 15 mmutes to go, the Lady Warriors failed to add to their lead on two straight pos- sessions. Wilson buried a trey with 13:25 left for a 49-46 Three Rivers lead and ECCC never caught the Lady Raiders again. "We never could get back m the lead," Hodge said. "I thought if we could get in the lead. we could take control of it, but they made good stops." ECCC got 16 points from Chaney, 13 from Rita Birden, nine from Bender, eight from Kim Cox, seven from K.imyatta Viverette, and fi\e from Lenore Gray. Cox and Gray both had seven rebounds, while Viverette had SIX and Bender bad five to go with four assists. Viverette had e1ght blocks. Three Rivers had a good scouting report on ECCC, thanks to ltawamba Community College, according to Wilson. "We knew a lot about each player individually," Wilson said. "We knew pretty much their first names and what they did. We focused on stopping Chaney and (Viverette) and we knew what the rest of them clld" In addition to Wilson's 23 points, Three Rivers, 27-5, also got 17 points from Ashley Williams, II from Emmerentia Ledwaba, and eight each from Nicole Rivers and Victoria Richards. "They're not a bad group," Hodge sa1d. "They earned the right to get here 1 thought their guard play was a lot quicker than what we anticipat– ed"

throws 70 seconds later for a nine-point lead and Bender, V1verette, Burks and Chaney combined to go 8-for-8 at the line over the final 5 I seconds. The Lady Warriors made the1r last 18 free throws and were 24- of-29 for the game. "That's awesome," Hodge sa1d. "Twenty-four of29 from the free– throw line and 19-of-20 m the second half That shows a lot of character in th1 group and that has been a little Adulles' heel for us at tunes.To do·that 10 dus tournament and dus enYiron– ment IS what won the ballgame for us." Lake Reg1on, 24-10, got 2 pomts from Stre1fel and II each lr •m Olga Semn and Jen Conely. THREE RIVERS 76. ECCC64 Every time the East Central (. •mmunity College Lady Warriors ~ the Three Rivers (Mo.) Community C lllege Lady Raiders Tuesday (March 16) afternoon, the Missouri girls hit back JUSt a little harder. Three Rivers "CCred 15 ofthe game's final23 points to take a 76-64 win. Jessica Wilson, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard from Three Rivers' hometown of Poplar Bluff, landed the knockout blows as she scored 13 straaght Lady Rruder points in the final 3:03 In the stretch, Wilson was 8-of-8 at the free-throw line and hit two bas– k~~:.. mcludmg a 3-pomter. ECCC was only down 61-56 "~n Wilson took over the game. "IJUSt tned to step up and be a leader for my team and try and get them gomg;' Wilson sa1d. .. It got me gomg and everybody was getting pumped up." Wilson fimshed with a