Wildcats, Lady ''Cats well represented in upcoming MACJC All-Star Games

POPLARVILLE Three Pearl River Community College men and women sophomore basketball stand outs have earned spots on their respective South Division All-Star squads set to take on the North Division team Monday, March 28, in the annual MACJC All-Star Basketball Games at East Central CC in Decatur. The women game starts at 5 p.m. in the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Buildings on the ECCC campus, followed by the men contest at 7 p.m. Guard Kenyatta Epps of Yazoo City High School has been named to the women South Division squad, while center Phillip Crawford out of Murphy High in Mobile, Ala., and point guard Pedro Maciel, a Centenary College (La.) transfer who prepped at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis, are on the men South team. Epps, who was named to the All-MACJC South Division second team this past year, was a two-year starter for third-year Lady Wildcat head coach Toby Bush. She averaged a team-high 10.9 points per game this past season, while hitting 69 percent from the field. In addition, Epps was a 33 percent shooter from three-point range and 79.1 percent from the free throw line. She also averaged 3.8 rebounds a game. Epps was instrumental in getting the PRCC women into the MACJC State Tournament as the South Division No. 3 seed. The Lady Wildcats wrapped their 2010-2011 season with a 11-10 record under third-year head coach Toby Bush. Crawford, who was named to the first-team All-Region 23 and All-MACJC South Division squads, was a two-year starter for the Wildcats and averaged 18.2 points per game and hauled in 7.9 boards per game. He hit 59.9 percent from the field and 69 percent at the foul line. All told, Pearl River was 47-10 overall during the two seasons in which Crawford started for head coach Richard Mathis. PRCC won the MACJC state championship with a 24-5 record his freshman season. This past season, the Wildcats finished 23-5 and were runners-up in the state. Maciel, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is lauded for his ball handling skills and led the Wildcats in assists with a 5.5 per game average. He averaged five points a game and hit an impressive 76.2 percent of his free throws. Other South Division women all-stars include Kierra Addison and Brittany Patterson of Southwest Mississippi, Tanecka Carey and Kianna Harris of Jones County, Deonica McCormick of Mississippi Gulf Coast, Kiara Etienne, Sedreka Plummer, Brandi Simmons, and G.G. Williams Copiah-Lincoln; Shanequa Bufkin of East Central, and LaShondra Dunson of Hinds. Sandra Sumrall of Jones County is head coach of the South squad. North Division women all-stars include Autumn Jones of Mississippi Delta, Mandy Collins, Anna Hill, and Ebony Williams of Itawamba; Malea Malone and Tia Nunnally of Coahoma, Amber Johnson of Northeast Mississippi, Jamie Gunter and RoTasha Windom of East Mississippi, Lanita Futrell of Northwest Mississippi, and Marquisha Pointer and Tiffany Pointer of Holmes. Ron Aldy of Holmes is head coach of the North squad. Other South Division men all-stars include P.J. McCray of Southwest Mississippi, Derek Burks and Erik Burks of Hinds, Derrious Gilmore and Brandon Givens of Jones County, Kenneth Barlow and Keondre Hodges of East Central, Raymond Cintron and Marlon Williams of Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Marcus Hooten of Copiah-Lincoln. Bubba Skelton of Jones County is head coach of the South squad. North Division men all-stars include Akeem Anderson and Reggie Fondren of Northwest Mississippi, Jestonia Kimber and Jarvis Moore of Mississippi Delta, Deonte Alexander and Jonathan King of East Mississippi, Melvin Morgan and Wendell Williams of Itawamba, Curtis Bailey and Jeff Stubbs of Holmes, Tony Payne of Coahoma, and Tyler Pritchard of Northeast Mississippi. Jason Flanigan of Holmes is head coach of the North squad.