The famous phrase, "There's no place like home" from the movie 'The Wizard of Oz' rang true for the Lady Bears Saturday as their first contest inside the Bear Basketball Center since December 17 was a complete team effort as they shut down visiting East Mississippi 83-57 giving Southwest its first conference win and halted a five-game skid.
"That is what I told our team, we are the only team in a 15-team league that hasn't played a (conference) home game," Southwest head coach Brent Harris said. "It was good to be home."
Southwest (11-5, 1-2 MACCC) grabbed the early advantage despite losing a key piece in Bethany Graves briefly to a lower leg injury very early in the contest. Her absence sent an immediate signal to fellow sophomore Kara Beth Addison to step up her game and help fill the void.
"I saw her go out and I said 'it is me, I have to step up and do it,'" said Addison who led the Lady Bears with 22 points including a 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line.
Addison took the reins for the Lady Bears scoring nine of the team's 15 first quarter points helping Southwest take a four-point advantage into the second quarter.
In the early stages of the ensuing period, Southwest ramped its game up going on a 13-3 run in the first five and a half minutes of the period as it began to pull away from East Mississippi. A big reason for the Lady Bears' success during the rally was the play of freshman Akeelah Hobson who scored seven points. Graves also made her presence known, showing her toughness by returning to the floor despite her injury and getting an early basket during the run.
For the remainder of the quarter, the Lady Bears kept their foot on the gas, building a 12-point advantage at 36-24 at the half.
It was more of the same in the third quarter as Graves kicked off the period with a basket followed by a three-point play before Mady Smith followed with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
One key factor in the game for the Lady Bears was free throw shooting and it stood out in the third quarter as they connected on all seven attempts on their way to a 17-of-19 effort for the game. Southwest led 64-46 at the end of the third.
The Lady Bears kept their foot on the gas in the fourth as makes from Moosie Walls, Gracie Miller, Addison and Smith helped lead the charge. Coach Harris emptied his bench as well, giving reserves key playing time and Southwest didn't miss a beat, finishing strong down the stretch.
Joining Addison in double-digit scoring was Hobson and Miller who each posted 11 points.
NEXT UP:
The Lady Bears will have yet another short two-day turnaround and they host Jones on Monday at 5:30 p.m. The game will have a "White Out" theme as fans are asked to wear white to the contest.
