Bulldogs upset No. 7 PRCC

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast lost a heartbreaker earlier this week, knocking them from the ranks of the unbeaten in the conference.

The Bulldogs didn't tuck their tails, though, turning around and knocking off MACCC-leading Pearl River, the seventh-ranked team in the country, 74-66 at Dantzler Arena on Thursday. Tytiana Buckley (So., Meridian/Meridian) had a monstrous game with 27 points.

"It feels really good," Gulf Coast coach Hope Adams said. "It feels even better because tonight, I told them tonight it's going to identify who we are coming off a loss. I love this team. These girls come out and work relentlessly every single day. I would be remiss not to give them all the credit. They could have easily come out and been in a funk, but they got over it and got after it."

Gulf Coast improved to 12-5 overall, 6-1 in MACCC play. They're a half-game behind Southwest, the last unbeaten team in the conference. Pearl River had a 10-game win streak snapped, falling to 18-3, 5-1. They're a half-game back of the Bulldogs now, with Gulf Coast holding the tiebreaker.

The teams swapped the leads twice in each of the first three quarters, and PRCC had stretched the lead to five with 5:39 to play. Simaru Fields (So., Pass Christian/Gulfport) hit a jumper from the right wing, got fouled and made the free throw to make it 59-57.

When running mate Ja'Sharreah Hunt (So., Roxie/Franklin County) got an offensive rebound and tied it, Dantzler Arena went nuts.

Jacylin Houston (Fr., Louisville/Louisville) had the next big play, this time on defense. She drew a charge from Taylor Johnson-Matthews with 4:23 left, fouling out the game's leading scorer. She finished with 28.

"We put the assignment on Jacylin to play (Johnson-Matthews) tough," Adams said. "We were able to get her out of the game, and she's a tough player. I'm so proud of Jacylin for taking that charge. That really changed the momentum of the game."

The Bulldogs were already five points into what turned into a 14-1 run that won them the game.

Buckley had a 3-pointer from the right wing and punctuated the stretch with a baseline drive that made it 68-60.

PRCC didn't get closer than six the rest of the way.

"Buckley was phenomenal," Adams said. "She's Tot. She's gonna guard the best offensive player, do her defensive assignment. Going down the stretch, she was able to go to the basket and draw those and-ones. She knocked down her free throws. She was really big for us tonight."

Houston had 17 points, and Je'Mya Evans (So., Gulfport/Harrison Central) added 12.

Gulf Coast will travel to Clarksdale on Monday to play Coahoma. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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