First-place Bulldogs blow past ICC

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast maintained its grip on the top spot in the MACCC women's basketball standings in convincing fashion, blitzing Itawamba in the third quarter on the way to an 82-50 victory.

The Bulldogs (17-4, 10-1 MACCC) outscored ICC (18-4, 6-4) by 21 in that 10-minute stretch to apply the knockout blow to the Indians, who started the night in fourth place.

"We went into halftime and told them what they needed to do," Gulf Coast coach Hope Adams said. "They came out after halftime and executed the gameplan perfectly. We played our style of ball and pushed the ball up the court. We got a lot of leak-outs."

The Bulldogs got behind in the first quarter but led 14-11 after 10 minutes. Simaru Fields (So., Pass Christian/Gulfport), who led the team with 28 points, nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 38-30. She had three 3-pointers in the quarter.

Jacylin Houston (Fr., Louisville/Louisville) poured in 12 points in the second quarter on the way to 17.

The Bulldogs used a balanced attack in the third quarter to outscore the Indians 33-12. Six different players scored in that stretch, including seven from Kristen McMillan (Fr., Hoover, Ala./Hoover), who finished with 11.

Tytiana Buckley (So., Meridian/Meridian) also added 11.

"I love this team," Adams said. "Buckley has been carrying us the last two weeks, and now Kristen steps up and Fields steps up. Houston was very efficient. People off the bench came in and did their jobs, even if they didn't score, whether that's rebounding or communicating on defense. They helped us be better with the small details of the game."

Gulf Coast plays at Meridian on Monday before getting a week off for its open date. Tipoff against the Eagles is set for 5:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs will have their final two games of the regular season after that break, and they are amping up their game headed toward the postseason.

"I saw a team that's starting to peak," Adams said. "We talked about this at the beginning of the year, that we wanted to peak late. I felt like that first half, they gave us all they could give us because that's a good team and a well-run program. I don't take this win lightly."

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