Bulldogs rack up another Perk win

PERKINSTON — The Mississippi Gulf Coast women have been really good at home this season, and Thursday night, they were really dominant. The Bulldogs blew out East Central 77-47 at Dantzler Arena to improve to 8-1 at Perk. 

"We're better here because we've got a confident group," Hope Adams said. "They love playing in front of their home crowd. It gets them going. They're confident because people are showing up and believing in them. I love the crowd and how they're showing up for women's basketball, and our girls are taking pride in that."

Gulf Coast (10-4) stayed in a fourth-place tie in the MACCC, improving to 5-2. They have won all four conference games at Dantzler Arena.

A rowdy crowd got into it in the second quarter when Elsie Harris (So., Mobile, Ala./B.C. Rain) knocked down three 3-pointers. Gulf Coast outscored the Warriors 25-9 in the quarter to go into halftime up 37-19.

Tytiana Buckley (Fr., Meridian/Meridian) was a force on the offensive glass in the second half. She scored 14 of her team-high 19 after the break and also grabbed 13 rebounds.

"She's our energizer," Adams said. "She comes off the bench, and she's our sparkplug. I like to describe her as our Dennis Rodman, but she can score. She's going to do all the tough stuff."

Simaru Fields (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) lit it up in the third quarter, knocking down three from behind the arc and pouring in 13 of her 19. She added seven assists and six steals.

Harris and Amber Scott (So., Jackson/Hillcrest Christian) had 13 points.

Gulf Coast will try to flip the script on a road trip Monday. The Bulldogs are 2-3 away from home and head to Utica to play Hinds. Tipoff will be at 6 p.m.

"We need a road win right now," Adams said. "We're going to prepare them to go get that dub on the road. If we play like we did tonight, we'll be OK. We've got to lock in."

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