Freshman Felmas Koranga leads No. 18 Tyler Junior College past rival Kilgore
Unlike many college basketball conferences, Region XIV doesn't hand out Player of the Week honors.
If the honor was awarded, Tyler Junior College's Felmas Koranga would have a strong case for it. After scoring 29 points in Wednesday's win over Panola, the 6-1 freshman from Rift Valley, Kenya, had 28 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots on Saturday to lead to No. 18 Apache Ladies to a 90-73 victory over rival Kilgore College at Wagstaff Gymnasium.
"The kid is special and fun to coach," TJC head coach Trenia Tillis Hoard said. "They had to put three people on her late in the game, and other players stepped up around her and made plays."
Kilgore got the first points of the game on a drive by Emely Rosario. She also had a free throw later in the first half as Tyler jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first seven minutes. Kilgore was 1-for-12 from the field in that stretch, and Koranga blocked three shots.
Kilgore eventually got some shots to fall, but Tyler shot 61 percent in the opening quarter to take a 26-14 lead.
With the score at 33-24 in the second quarter, TJC went on a 7-0 run with a triple by Kierra Brimzy and two straight buckets by Koranga to stretch the lead to 16. The Apache Ladies led 41-28 at the break.
The TJC lead was still 13 points, 47-34, midway through the third quarter when Koranga went on a personal 9-0 run. The Apache Ladies outscored the Lady Rangers 26-14 in the third quarter to lead 67-42 going into the final frame.
Kilgore opened the fourth quarter on a 12-0 run and held TJC without a field goal for nearly four minutes.
With the score at 77-64 with 3:17 on the clock, Quatera Limbrick connected from deep for the Apache Ladies, and Kilgore never got as close as 13 points during the remainder of the contest.
Limbrick was perfect from the field in the second half, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range to score 11 of her 14 points in in the final 20 minutes. Brimzy also finished with 14 points, and Kennedy Burks and Te'Aire Hambrick both added 13 points.
Burks grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out four assists. Trelynn Tyler finished with 8 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the Apache Ladies.
Rosario finished just shy of a triple-double in the losing effort for the Lady Rangers (11-7, 3-4). She had 25 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Ta'Shawnna Riggs added 11 points.
TJC (15-3, 6-1) will play No. 2 Trinity Valley Wednesday in Athens. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Kilgore will play host to Bossier Parish on Wednesday.
Around Region XIV women's play: Panola 98, Bossier Parish 68; Angelina 73, Paris 57; Trinity Valley 104, Coastal Bend 47; and Blinn 62, Jacksonville 53.
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No. 18 Tyler 90, Kilgore 73
Kilgore 14 14 14 31 — 73
Tyler 26 15 26 23 — 90
KILGORE — Emely Rosario 25, Alex Strawhorn 5, Patience Idoko 4, Alexis Popham 5, Ireneshia Johnson 7, Ta'Shawnna Riggs 11, Carah Burdette 7, Sarah Mgbeike 6, Armani Harris 0, Alba Garcia Camerena 3.
TYLER — Trelynn Tyler 8, Felmas Koranga 28, Diamond Atchinson 0, Kennedy Burks 13, Kierra Brimzy 14, Te'Aire Hambrick 13, Quatera Limbrick 14, Erica Powell 0, Frankazia Boyd 0.
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