POPLARVILLE — Despite playing a good brand of basketball for most of Thursday's road contest at No. 16 Pearl River, the Lady Bears could not get over their mistakes as they fell to the Lady Wildcats 52-43.
 
"A lot of that was them communicating with each other on a lot of different actions and they run a bunch of them," Southwest head coach Brent Harris said. "We communicated in a tough environment, and I am extremely proud of that."
 
For the first 5:30 of the contest the Lady Bears (12-8, 2-5 MACCC) displayed a tough defense that the Lady Wildcats had difficulty dealing with. On the other side of the floor, the Southwest offense spread the ball around as four different Lady Bears registered baskets early helping the visitors jump out to a 9-2 advantage.
 
But the momentum was quickly squashed by the hosts who narrowed the gap to just four at 13-9 at the end of the first quarter.
 
For most of the second quarter, Southwest maintained its lead, even stretching it to as much as five. But during the latter half of the quarter, Pearl River went on a run to take a brief lead before a Kara Beth Addison free throw tied the game at 22. That score stayed true through halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Southwest had trouble getting its offense going while Pearl River stayed in rhythm. Despite the struggles, the Lady Bears continued to fight and inched closer toward the end of the period pulling within nine at 39-28.

Even though the Lady Bears found their groove again, the Lady Wildcats didn't miss a beat in the fourth as they continued to stay one step ahead before running out the clock and claiming the win.
 
Akeelah Hobson came off of the bench and led Southwest with 15 points.
 
The Lady Bears will be back in action on Monday, hosting Coahoma at 5:30 p.m. Southwest is proud to be partnering with Make-A-Wish in honor of Zack Embry of McComb. Donations to Make-A-Wish will be collected at the door and at the concession stand during Monday's games.