Gulf Coast women battle Co-Lin hard

PERKINSTON — Keiara Williams led four Mississippi Gulf Coast players in double digits Monday, and the Lady Bulldogs put a scare into Copiah-Lincoln before losing 75-62.

Williams (6-1, Fr., New Orleans/Warren Easton) had 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. She also led the team with three steals.

"I thought Keiara played really well at both ends of the floor," Gulf Coast coach Jason Conner said.

Jordana Jolley (5-7, Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin) added 11 points, with Shaniqua Tobias (5-6, So., New Orleans/Warren Easton) and J'nitra Ratliff (5-8, Fr., Port Gibson/Port Gibson) getting 10 each.

Gulf Coast (7-11, 1-8 MACJC South) had lost to Co-Lin (15-2, 8-1) by 40 points in the teams' first meeting.

"I think we did a better job defensively," Conner said. "(Tobias) was with us. JoJo was with us. They weren't with us the first time. That gives us more consistent offense."

The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 28-8 after the first quarter, but outscored Co-Lin 41-23 over the next 20 minutes to pull within two heading into the fourth quarter. They started the third period on a 6-0 run, and finished on a 12-2 spurt.

"I was pleased," Conner said. "I knew we wanted to get to the free throw line, and we did. We needed to outrebound them, and it was close."

Gulf Coast made 20-of-25 free throws, and lost the battle on the board 43-37.

Co-Lin was able to pull away in the fourth quarter.

"You're never pleased with a loss, but I thought our girls fought it," Conner said. "This is a very, very, very good team. I'm proud of them."

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