No. 1-seeded Bulldogs host ECCC

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast earned the top seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Basketball Tournament by playing team basketball. Opponents were never sure which Bulldog was going to beat them on a given night.

Coach Hope Adams thinks that even more important going forward, and the postseason starts Monday when No. 8-seed East Central visits Dantzler Arena.

"We have to show up, and everybody has to make each other better," she said. "Dive on balls, make sure you block your girl out. Whoever has the defensive assignment to take away the leading scorer, the other four players have to understand if she gets hung up on a screen, I've got your help. This is all about team basketball. Everybody has to do what it takes for the team to win."

Tipoff at Perk is set for 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

Gulf Coast finished the regular season with a 20-4 record, including a 13-1 record in the MACCC which earned them a share of the conference title. It's the first championship for the program since 2000.

East Central is 19-10, 7-7 and finished eighth in the conference.

The two teams met a little less than a month ago, with Gulf Coast winning 63-56 at Perk. The Bulldogs made six 3-pointers in the first quarter to open a lead they never relinquished. Tytiana Buckley (So., Meridian/Meridian) made four of those, finishing 5-of-7 behind the arc on the way to 25 points and eight rebounds.

Simaru Fields (So., Pass Christian/Gulfport) and Jacylin Houston (Fr., Louisville/Louisville) had 11 points each.

Miriam Prince led the Warriors with 25 points, the only ECCC player in double digits.

"She's an outstanding scorer. I think the first time we played them, we were still kinda figuring out who we were and who we wanted to be as a team. I think now our defensive pressure has picked up, I think they're going to get a different team. Of course, we never underestimate a team in postseason."

NJCAA Region 23 Women's Basketball Tournament

First Round

Saturday, March 9

Higher seed hosts

No. 8 East Central 85, No. 9 Southern-Shreveport 71

No. 5 Itawamba 54, No. 12 Jones 36

No. 7 Northeast Mississippi 90, No. 10 Mississippi Delta 60

No. 11 Meridian 58, No. 6 Northwest Mississippi 55

Quarterfinals

Monday, March 11

Higher seed hosts

East Central at No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast, 5:30 p.m.

Itawamba at No. 4 Coahoma, Clarksdale, 6 pm

Northeast at No. 2 Pearl River, Poplarville, 5:30 pm

Meridian at No. 3 Southwest Mississippi, Summit, TBD

Semifinals

Thursday, March 14

Clinton, Miss.

Semifinal 1, 3 pm

Semifinal 2, 7 pm

Finals

Friday, March 15

Clinton, Miss.

Championship, 7 pm

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