It was Sophomore night at Cleveland State Community College on Wednesday night as the Lady Cougars welcomed their arch-rival, Chattanooga State to L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium. Five Lady Cougars and six Cougars were honored on their special night as they took the floor for the final home game..

 Asjah Harrell, Nicky Jones, Emma Harig, Michaela Bennefield, and Kyeisha Dalton were honored with roses and a plaque in a ceremony before tip-off of the ladies contest as they prepared to take the floor for their final home game.

 Khris Green, Nicholas Beaird-Kinnard, Kobe Pride, K'Juan Banks, Melvin Tobar, Jr. and Miguel Shaw were also honored with a plaque during halftime of the ladies contest. The Cougars did not to get to play on this night as Chattanooga State was still battling the COVID bug and had to cancel.

 Perhaps it was a little bit sophomore night celebration, cold shooting or a very good Lady Tigers team defense or a combination of all three. Whatever the case, the Lady Cougars went cold in the second quarter and never recovered as the Lady Tigers put a damper on the Cleveland State sophomore night festivities with a thumping, 72-45 final score.

 The Lady Cougars played well in the first quarter as Harrell hit a shot from downtown and a layup and Jones added a nice driving layup as Cleveland State took an 11-9 lead at the first stop.

 To say that the wheels fell off the Cleveland State wagon in the second quarter would be and understatement. The proverbial lid on the basket closed down tight as the home team hit only 1-14 shots in the stanza.

 Former Cleveland High School Lady Raider and current Chattanooga State point guard, Mariyah Person shook off an 0-6 first quarter and sizzled the nets the rest of the way as she tossed in a short jumper, added a pair of steals and two nice driving layups. Tionna Baker hit a long 3-pointer and Bailey Lee added a pair of tough buckets in the paint as the Lady Tigers built a two-touchdown lead by halftime, 28-14.

 The second half was just a formality as the game had long since been decided. Harig, Harrell, Bennefield and Kyeisha Dalton all dented the scoreboard in the second half for Cleveland State, but the Lady Tigers were just too tough on this night as the lead grew steadily the rest of the way. Jay'la Williams hit a pair of 3-balls for the visitors as they took a 49-29 lead into the fourth frame. Williams would lead all scorers with 21 points including five shots from behind the line.

 The Lady Cougars (15-5, 11-4) shot a woeful 30 percent for the game while Chattanooga State hit 44% of their shots. The Lady Tigers (18-7, 10-3) knocked down 10-12 shots from the charity stripe while the Lady Cougars converted only 9-22. After Williams 21 points, Baker and person had 13 points each. Bennefield led the Lady Cougars with 13 points while Harig and Harrell added 10 apiece.

 

Cleveland State will travel to Dyersburg State on Saturday for the regular season finale and then return to Dyersburg next week for the Conference Tournament.