Posted: Feb 15, 2022
Love was in the air on Monday night at Cleveland State as the Jackson State Green Jays soared into town for a big NJCAA/TCCAA Region VII showdown inside the, "Q," L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium.
The Lady Cougars had to come from behind to take a dramatic win over the Lady Green Jays by a final score of 47-42.
Cleveland State opened the ladies contest with the hot hand as Asjah Harrell slashed her way to the hoop for a pair of quick buckets, then added a short jumper and a pair of free tosses to help the home team to a 15-6 advantage. A pair of 3-balls from Makayla Transou helped the Green Jays stay close, trailing 17-11 at the first stop.
Nicky Jones knocked down a pair of layups in the second quarter while Kyeshia Dalton hit four shots from the charity stripe as the Lady Cougars took a 27-21 halftime lead.
The turnover bug bit the Lady Cougars in the third frame as the Green Jays made a run at the lead slicing it to three points with less than a minute to play, but a nice assist from Emma Harig to a cutting Jones at the buzzer gave the home team a 37-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Green Jays turned up the defensive pressure which resulted in an 8-2 run and their first lead of the game, 40-39 with just under five minutes to play.
The wake-up call was received loud and clear as the Lady Cougars found a breath of fresh air following a timeout and proceeded to end the game on an 8-2 run of their own to seal the win. Harrell and Jones stepped up big in crunch time with four points each in the final minutes and Michaela Bennefield knocked down two pressure-packed free throws to put her team back on top to stay.
"It wasn't a thing of beauty to say the least," stated Lady Cougar coach Evelyn Thompson. "But, at this time of year, you will take a win anyway you can get one. Our turnovers were awful, but we made the shots down the stretch when we had too."
Harrell paced Cleveland State (15-4, 11-3) with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Bennefield had her usual night in the office with six points and 14 big rebounds, Harig finished with 5 points and seven boards and Jones checked in with 12 points. Transou led the way for the Green Jays (9-5, 7-5) with 15 points while Kyasia Overstreet added 11 points and 14 boards.
Although the 22 turnovers were a soar spot for the Lady Cougars, they did hit 15-18 from the charity stripe and out-rebounded the Green Jays 43-34 and held them to only 27% shooting for the game.
