Bulldogs hand PRCC 1st loss of season

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast got the drop on archrival Pearl River on Thursday night at Dantzler Arena, and the Bulldogs led all the way in a 64-58 win to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Gulf Coast led by 16 after the first 10 minutes and withstood a four-quarter rally to improve to 9-3 overall, 4-1 in the MACCC. The Bulldogs are tied for second in the MACCC one-third of the way into the season.

"We jumped out early," MGCCC coach Hope Adams said. "That was the gameplan. We've been starting off a little slow, so we wanted to jump out and see how they handled a little adversity. We wanted to take control of the game, and we did."

Pearl River, which was one of the last three unbeaten teams in the country, is now 14-1 and tied with Gulf Coast in the conference.

Simaru Fields (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) had 11 of her team-high 18 points in the first quarter, sparking a 22-6 outburst. The lead was 18 at halftime, and they never trailed by less than 14 in the third.

The Bulldogs were able to punish the Pearl River press, scoring baskets in transition. Defensively, they executed their gameplan.

"We wanted to take control of the ball reversal," Adams said. "They're a great club when it comes to running their offense set. The main plan coming in was if we could take away their ball reversal, we could disrupt their offense. I think we did a great job at that for three quarters."

Things tightened up in the fourth, however. Pearl River scored the first eight points of the quarter, and the Gulf Coast lead would shrink to 59-56 with 92 seconds to play.

"We played about 30 minutes of basketball," Adams said. "For about 10 minutes, we got a little tired. Our legs got the best of us. We dug in, and they were able to finish off a really important ballgame."

Amber Scott (So., Jackson/Hillcrest Christian) banked in a runner in the lane with 1:13 to play, and Ja'Sharreah Hunt (Fr., Roxie/Franklin County) made three of four free throws down the stretch to ice it.

Hunt finished with 11, and TK Catchings (So., New Hebron/Simpson Academy) and Harris had 10. Harris had five steals and five assists.

"I told them this is just one more team in our way for where we want to finish going into postseason," Adams said. "This was a tough ballgame. I think now we've given ourselves a chance to finish high and host a playoff game."

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.