Following a first half where Southwest and Coastal Alabama – South were locked in a close battle, the Lady Bears ramped-up their play in the second before claiming a 71-43 win over the visiting Lady Coyotes Thursday on Day 1 of the 2024 Southwest Papa John's Classic.

"I thought in the second half, we responded well and  a lot of our leaders, I thought that they upped their game to pull the rest of us up," Southwest head coach Brent Harris said.

In the first quarter, the Lady Bears (8-0) were engaged in a close battle with the Lady Coyotes. Mookie Lampley quickly took the reigns for Southwest, splashing in three 3-pointers in the first 10:00 play helping the Lady Bears take a 15-10 lead.

The lead was cut down to as little as three in the second quarter, but the Lady Bears never lost their composure nor the lead as Shanell Celestine helped lead the charge with six of her eight points in the quarter and was complemented by another six points from Lampley. Southwest led 29-22 at the half. After the game, Lampley gave credit to her teammates with helping her set up her offensive game.

"My teammates did a really good job of finding me," she said. "I was there to finish the play. I was feeling it once I made that first one (3-pointer) and I just kept trying to shoot it the same way. I was focused and ready to play."  

After Lampley shined in the first half, it was Kara Beth Addison's turn in the second. With about 6:30 to go in the third quarter, the sophomore got into rhythm and was responsible for scoring 10-consecutive Southwest points over a 3:00 span helping the
Lady Bears increase their lead to 43-26.

The Lady Coyotes got a 3-pointer shortly afterward but it was answered by a 7-0 Lady Bear run which put Southwest ahead 50-29.

Even though the Lady Bears led 54-31 entering the fourth quarter, they lost focus at the beginning of the period as Coastal cut into the lead reducing it down to 16 at 57-41. But Southwest not only put a stop to the run but went on one of its own once again cushioning the lead.

From there, the Lady Bears used that momentum to close out the Lady Coyotes and seal the win.

Lampley led Southwest with 15 points while Addison poured-in 13 and Bethany Graves 12.

The Lady Bears will be back in action on Friday at 6:00 p.m. hosting Holmes on Day 2 of the Papa John's Classic.