Saddler lifts Bulldogs in final seconds

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast trailed by three in the final 30 seconds, but Aniya Saddler pulled the Bulldogs to their fourth win in their last five games on Thursday night.

She scored five straight points and forced a key turnover on the way to a 57-54 win at the Weathers-Wentzell Center.

"The first half, we couldn't into our offense," Gulf Coast coach Hope Adams said. "They were pressuring us in half-court and full-court. We made some adjustments and used our full-court press (in the second half) to really change the game."

East Central led 54-51 after a run-out layup with 29.6 seconds left. After the ball was deflected over the end-line under the Warriors' bucket, Saddler broke free on the inbounds play for a shot in the lane to make it a one-point lead with 21.6 left.

After the Warriors advanced the ball to half-court, they dribbled the ball out of bounds with 18.7 to play. 

It was time to call Saddler's number again.

"I told Aniya we were going to run Fist for her, but we did not run that play right at all," Adams said. "She wanted the ball and got the ball in the right position, though, and she took it downhill for the and-1."

Saddler's slashed from the free-throw line and drew a foul as her layup circled the rim twice before falling. She nailed the free throw for a 56-54 lead with 10.8 to play, then harassed the Warriors player trying to inbound the ball after a timeout and forced her to throw it away on a long crosscourt pass.

Kelsi Jackson (So., Moselle/South Jones) made one of two free throws for the final margin.

Saddler scored all 13 of her points in the second half, including nine in the fourth quarter. Sharisse Bridges (Fr., Jackson/Callaway) led all scorers with 14.

East Central falls to 2-9, 2-9. The teams split the regular-season matchups, each winning at home.

Gulf Coast (5-7, 4-7 MACCC South) travels to Jones on Saturday for a makeup contest. Tipoff is a 6 p.m. before the Bulldogs play Meridian on Monday in what will likely be the final regular-season game. A game against Pearl River that was postponed this week isn't likely to be made up. 

All teams will play in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, which starts March 29 with play-in games for the teams seeded 14th through 19th. The Bulldogs appear to be above that threshold and would appear to be headed the first round, which will be played March 31.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.