SUMMIT – In a remarkable turnaround, the Co-Lin Lady Wolves bounced back to gain some revenge on their arch rivals, Southwest, defeating the Lady Bears 60-52 in Horace C. Holmes Gymnasium Thursday night in South JUCO women’s action.

In the men’s game, an enthusiastic pregame introduction fired up the Southwest Bears as they managed to overpower Co-Lin with their depth to claim a 93-64 victory.

Co-Lin returns home to host Meridian Monday. The women will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m.

Southwest will invade Poplarville Monday to take on the Pearl River Wildcats. The Lady Bears will start the action at 5 p.m. The Bears are scheduled to begin at 7.

Co-Lin 60, Southwest 52 

The Lady Wolves (12-7, 5-5) came out strong to open the first half and claim an early 4-0 lead before the Lady Bears managed to wake up and surge back.

In a seesaw battle throughout the first half, the Lady Wolves and Lady Bears provided a great defensive battle for their basketball fans as Co-Lin carried a 22-20 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Co-Lin turned up the heat on defense to keep Southwest off balance throughout the rest of the contest by limiting the Lady Bears to just a one-shot opportunity and outrebounded Southwest 44-to-35.

In the last three minutes of action, Southwest made an attempt to come back, but Co-Lin managed to control the clock and nailed some key free throws to preserve the win.

Freshman guard Claresa Banks was the offensive and defensive leader for the Lady Wolves with a game-high double-double performance of 23 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore forward Tyrisha Patterson helped on the boards by grabbing seven rebounds. Keyana Miller was the second leading scorer for Co-Lin with nine points.

“This was a good win for us over a very good team,” said Co-Lin coach Gwyn Young. “The girls came out and fought hard defensively until the very end. Overall, I was very pleased with the girls’ effort.

“Southwest has a very good team and it was tough for us to keep them off balance with our defensive game plan,” continued Young. “On offense, we started to come around in the second half, as we shot the ball really well and had great clock management.”

Katrina Littlepage was the top scorer for the Lady Bears with 17 points. Courtney Epting contributed 10 points. Tee Myers led on the boards for Southwest with six rebounds.

Southwest 93, Co-Lin 64 

The Wolves (8-11, 4-6) did not let their lack of depth bother them as they entered the contest with six men on the roster against the Bears. Co-Lin came out fighting from start to finish as the hungry Wolves scratched and clawed for everything but at the end was overwhelmed by the Bears depth.

Southwest quickly set the tone of the game offensively in the first half as they took advantage of Co-Lin’s missed opportunities to gain a 20-point lead over the Wolves before heading into the lockers ahead 45-25.

In the second half, the Bears continued to overpower the Wolves offensively, but Co-Lin’s proud men did not quit. They fought even harder against the Bears as Southwest could only outscore the Co-Lin 48-39 in the 20 minutes of action.

Four Co-Lin players scored in double figures as Michael Vardaman led the charge with 21 points and five rebounds. LaJustin Anderson provided 12 points. Terrance James was the leader on the boards with seven rebounds and chipped in 11 points. Terry Morris had 10 points.

“I was very pleased with my guys’ effort,” said Co-Lin coach Kenny Bizot. “Southwest has very a good ball club with size and depth, but our guys did not give up. They fought hard until the very end.”

Deione Weeks provided the offensive spark to lead the Bears with 14 points. Chris Jones, Jaylen Moore and Tymond Howard fueled the flames with 13 points apiece.