No. 17 Bulldogs begin title defenses Friday

PERKINSTON — The defending MACCC and NJCAA Region 23 champion Mississippi Gulf Coast women's basketball team tips off the 2024-25 season Friday.

Last year's exceptional sophomore class has been replaced with a hungry group of freshman who need to learn the college game in a hurry.

"I feel like we're very talented," Gulf Coast coach Hope Adams said. "We are really, really young. We're inexperienced when it comes to playing time. And so, we have beefed up the schedule this year. We're playing Pensacola twice. We got Trinity Valley. We have talent. We have Northwest Florida, so we just want to put this group in the fire early so that they can get their experience."

The Bulldogs, ranked 17^th in the preseason NJCAA poll, open the year by hosting the two-day Gulf Coast Classic at Dantzler Arena. They'll play Enterprise State on 5 p.m. Friday and Calhoun at 3 p.m. Saturday. Pearl River is the fourth team in the event, and they'll play the opposite team in the first game of each day.

Gulf Coast and PRCC tied for the MACCC championship last year before the Bulldogs won the Region 23 Tournament to earn a trip to the national tournament in Casper, Wyo. 

All-MACCC selection Jacylin Houston (So., Louisville/Louisville) is back for the Bulldogs. She started nine games and played in all 28, averaging 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds.

"She's showing great leadership," Adams said. "I think right now, she's just ready to hit the court and pick up where she left off. She got to experience a great year last year with us achieving a championship."

Kristen McMillan (So., Hoover, Ala./Hoover) started 18 games and came off the bench six more times last year. She scored 4.3 points and grabbed 4.0 rebounds as a key role player.

Tamia Yates (So., Crystal Springs/Crystal Springs) and Aniyah Hunter (So., Louisville/Louisville) played important parts at various times of last year.

The newcomers include point guard Taelar Felton (Fr., Clinton/Clinton) who stands a powerful 5-foot-even. She's the first girls basketball player ever named to the Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen three straight years.

"I say good things come in small packages, but sometimes our small packages are really big," Adams said. "And so right now, I think she's going to be a big impact for us at the point guard position as well as, she can play all over the floor as far as a one or a two. She's quick as lightning. She has a motor. It's just her developing and growing up right now because she's going to have to get in the fire early."

Adams refers to Dekyra Mitchell (Fr., Durant/Holmes County) as a quiet assassin who will be a force. She was Miss Basketball for Class 5A last season. Jackson State-transfer Katelyn Brinkley (Fr., Ridgeland/Ridgeland) stands 6-foot-2, and plays both guard and forward, a matchup nightmare for opponents.

Cheyenne Pearson (Fr., Birmingham, Ala./Clay-Chalkville) is a transfer from South Alabama who is working back into shape after a preseason injury. Lamarah Cleaves (Fr., Tupelo/Tupelo) has shown tremendous growth since arriving on campus in the summer, and Hailey Brumfield (Fr., Amite/Amite) will form a strong guard triumvirate with Felton and Mitchell.

Allison Irby (Fr., Olive Branch/Lewisburg) is a glue piece for the Bulldogs. Jaslyne Davis (Fr., Gulfport/Harrison Central) is a presence in the paint, and Teairra Lee (Fr., St. Martin/St. Martin) comes to Gulf Coast from the Coast. 

Adams thinks the level of talent in the NJCAA is rising as a result of the portal, with schools looking to transfers over high school recruits. The MACCC is improved, and the Bulldogs have tough games at Mississippi Delta, Northwest Mississippi and Pearl River.

The Bulldogs beat PRCC in the regular season last year but shared the title after dropping a road game at Northeast Mississippi.

"Anytime you're on the road, any time a team is coming into your house, if you're taking a night off, you know that you can lose," Adams said. "We have to help them understand that we've got to stay consistent. This is a competitive league, and every night you're playing for a championship." 

Even with the loss of four great players to Division I schools, the goal remains the same. Adams wants her team to head back out to Big Sky country for a second straight year.

"That's always the goal to get to the national tournament," she said. "We built this team off of what we were able to experience last year in Wyoming. I feel like we got bigger, we got stronger. We definitely got some good players coming in, so we want to get back on that platform and make sure that people understand who Mississippi Gulf Coast is and that we're supposed to be there."

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.