Lady Bears fall in Season Opener

Friday November 3, 2023: Women's Basketball

Baton Rouge, LA

The Baton Rouge Lady Bears fell, in their season opener, to the Northeast Mississippi Lady Tigers 72-44, this evening in the Bears Den.

The Lady Tigers came out with an aggressive full court press that the, young freshman laden, Lady Bears could not handle. Early in the game, the Lady Tigers used their pressure to force the Lady Bears into multiple turnovers which led the Lady Tigers to a 23 to 3 first quarter lead. The Lady Bears would score their first two points of the season with a J'nyria Kelly bucket with 9:22 left, in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Lady Bears settled down a bit and were able to control the Lady Tiger pressure a bit more thus finding a bit of rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. At the half, Northeast Mississippi Lady Tigers led Baton Rouge Lady Bears 43 to 21.

The third quarter was a repeat of the first as the Lady Bears struggled to convert on the offensive end, only scoring nine points, in the quarter. The Lady Tigers continued to force pressure and convert on transition buckets. At the end of the third quarter, the Lady Tigers held a 64 to 30 lead over the Lady Bears.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Bear continued to fight and grind as they outscored the Lady Tigers 14 to 8, in the quarter, but overall fell to the Lady Tigers by a final score of 72 to 44 to open the 2023-24 season.

The Baton Rouge Lady Bears are young and there will be some road bumps, in the early part of the season, but this group of young ladies will overcome and continue to work and get better as the season goes along.

After the game Head Coach Paula Lee was impressed and proud that her kids fought and continued to fight as they faced adversity and believe if they continue to work on the fundamentals and let the game slow down a bit they will succeed.

Baton Rouge was led in scoring by J'nyria Kelly with 16 points, while Northeast Mississippi was led in scoring by Madison Gardner with 16 points. The Lady Tigers had four student athletes score in double figure.

The Lady Bears fell to 0-1 while the Lady Tigers improved to 1-0 on the season.

Lady Bear Highlights:

J'nyria Kelly had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Carlasia Moore added 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assist.

Vandryua Wilson and Olivia Davis each added 5 points apiece.

The Lady Bears will conclude the Lady Bear Classic on Saturday evening with a 5 pm match up against the Mississippi Delta Lady Trojans.

 Lady Bear Classic Day 1 Results

Tyler Junior College defeated Southwest Mississippi 75 to 54

Mississippi Delta defeated Shorter College 70 to 53

Kilgore College defeated Copiah-Lincoln 73 to 57

Day Two of the Lady Bear Classic starts at 11 am when Copiah-Lincoln faces Shorter College in the Bears Den

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