Evans leads MGCCC past Southwest

PERKINSTON — Leading relatively comfortably at halftime, Mississippi Gulf Coast unleashed a crushing blow to start the second half and run away from MACCC-rival Southwest Mississippi 77-55.

Je'Mya Evans (So., Gulfport/Harrison Central) was dominant with a career-high 25 points.

"Je'Mya has spent countless hours in the lab with Coach (Carla) Bartee," Gulf Coast coach Hope Adams said. "Her preparation is the reason she's so confident. We're seeing her see where the defense is coming from and responding to it. Coach Bartee gives her all kinds of scenarios in her individual breakdowns, and her preparation is going to translate to success in games." 

Evans had eight of the Bulldogs' 12 points in the second quarter to send her team to the locker room up 33-24 at halftime in the non-conference matchup.

Gulf Coast (7-3) scored 17 of the first 20 points in the third quarter, including a 13-0 run to go in front 52-29. The Bulldogs led by as 28 in the final quarter.

Simaru Fields (So., Pass Christian/Gulfport), who was named MACCC Player of the Week earlier in the day, had 18 points.

Southwest (8-4) played with two tall post players most of the night, forcing Gulf Coast to use Evans and rookie Tamia Yates (Fr., Crystal Springs/Crystal Springs) in tandem. Yates missed the fall semester because of injury.

"Their bigs played really well, and we struggled some with them, but our bigs responded. Je'Mya gave us a powerful game offensively, and her and Yates held their own defensively, as well. I was really impressed Yates' ability after just a week back at practice. By the end of the season, she'll be ready to roll."

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