Women’s Basketball wins conference opener by 29

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast left little doubt early in its MACCC women's basketball opener, and the Bulldogs pulled away all game to beat Copiah-Lincoln 80-51 on Thursday.

Gulf Coast (8-3) didn't play its best game and still won easily.

"We had moments and spurts," Bulldogs coach Hope Adams said. "We gave up 23 points in the third quarter, which is unacceptable. We want to keep teams under 55 points, and we did that."

Simaru Fields (So., Pass Christian/Gulfport) led four Gulf Coast double-digit scorers with 17 points.

The Bulldogs opened the game on a 13-4 run and led by 10 after the first quarter. It was 38-21 at halftime.

"I've been saying we haven't peaked yet, haven't reached our potential," Adams said. "We're striving every game to get better. I told them we really have to lock in after wins and learn from them because sometimes it's easy to hide behind a win and not continue to grow."

Co-Lin (8-5) got its offense going in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs survived and extended their lead again.

Tytiana Buckley (So., Meridian/Meridian) had 16 points, Jacylin Houston (Fr., Louisville/Louisville) scored 15, and Tytiana Buckley (So., Meridian/Meridian) chipped in 14.

"We've got to go to East Mississippi on Monday but it will be a quick turnaround," Adams said. "We've got to get better on Saturday and Sunday."

The Bulldogs tip off at 5:30 p.m. in Scooba.

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