2006

Area teams get one last chance • • In JUCO cage wars By Marty Stamper start writer

head coach Bill Smith. "All we've got to do is win one to keep playing." The Lady Warriors have gone 4- 4 in their last eight games. "We've been up and down," Smith said. "It depends on which learn shows up.'' If ECCC and MCC both win today, they

The men·-. and women's bas– ketball team from East Central Communit) College, along with the women of Meridian Commu– nity College, have one final chance to continue their 2005-06 basket– ball seasons when they play in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at Mississippi College in Clinton this week Play at the A. E. Wood Coliseum begins today with four women's game::. '' ith the men hitting the court on Tuesday. The women's winner advances to the NJCAA Divi ....ion I National Championship at Salina. Kan., with the men's champ10n heading to their national tournament at Hutchinson, Kan. The ~orthwe ....t ~fi sissippi men and women are the defending region champion-.. Holme .... (1 -7) and 1 orthwest (15-8) get the four-day tournament under way \\hen they tangle at 12:30 p.m. The two met twice during the regular eason with each takin.~.t home one win. Meridian (17-1 0) takes on outhern-Shreveport in the 2:30 p.m. women\, contest. The Lady Eagles met Shreveport twice during the regular season, losing both game'. 1\tCC advanced to the semifi– nal of last Wlek's MACJC State Tournament at Senatobia before lo -ing 64-54 to Copiah-Lincoln. MCC led 30-23 with two minutes remaining in the first half. Holly Dial hit seven 3-pointers to tie Danelle Cooper with scoring honor.... "'ith 24 points in a 90-87 frrst-round win over Holmes. The Lady Eagle - are 3-4 in their last seven .~.tamt "· At 6 p.m., MACJC state cham– pion \ orthea.. t \li-.si .,;ippi (21-4) square" o11 '-'ith Gulf Coast (17- 9). \lorthea-.t defeated Gulf Coast 78-69 in the fir~t round of last week's state tournamnt. At 8 p.m., East Central's Lady Warriors (17-9) take on Copiah– Lincoln (lt-J-7). The teams met twice in the regular season with Co-Lin coming out on top on both occasion~ by 62-59 and 57-56 scores. "We're stiU playing," said ECCC

would tangle at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in one of the semifinals. The women's championship is slated for 6 p.m. on Thursday with the men's title

Steve Hampton

game set for 8 p.m. Gulf Coast (16-10) and state champion Holmes (20-8) begin men's play at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.' Holmes whipped Gulf Coast 106-94 in the opening round of the state tournament. Pearl River (17-10) and Itawamba (16-11) meet at 2:30p.m. The ECCC Warriors, 17-9 under first-year coach Steve Hampton, face Northwest (26-2) at 6 p.m. in a rematch of last week's stale tour– nament match-up, won 97-85 by the Rangers in overtime. North– west saw its 38-game homecourt win streak snapped with a 99-80 loss to Holmes in the champi– onship game. "We're just happy to be there," Hampton said. "We played them tough the last time. I thought we very well could have won. Hope– fully, we'll get after them and make a run at winning the region tour– nament. "I don 't like the fact that they'll come in after a loss. They'll be fired up. But I think we showed that we can do some things to bother them. We can beat them inside if we'll just take care of ihc basketball. We had too many turnovers last time." , Copiah-Lincoln (15-8) closes out Tuesday's competition against Bossier Parish at 8 p.m.

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