Deep Bulldogs ready for new season
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast women's basketball coach Hope Adams has been working her Bulldogs hard since summer school in July, and she's seeing the fruits of their labors.
"We're very deep, so I'm really excited about this team," she said. "I've seen leaders start to rise up, and that's very important with a basketball team especially when you're talking about winning championships. The best teams, they're coached from within and I'm seeing players rise up and they're starting to get on each other. I feel like this team is very special, and I think we'll be right there trying to win a championship this year."
Gulf Coast tips off the season Monday with a trip to New Orleans to play Delgado. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. The first home game will be a non-conference game against Meridian on Thursday. Tipoff at the Weathers-Wentzell Center will be at 6 p.m.
Home tickets are on sale at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, including All-Basketball Season Passes good for every women's and men's game in the final season at the Weathers-Wentzell Center. The new basketball arena will open in 2022.
Adams has added depth at one spot where she hasn't always had it. There's more than one point guard to help run the offense, and that's going to mean the Bulldogs can play faster. She expects to be able to rotate five in and five out to give fans some exciting basketball to watch.
Elsie Harris (So., Mobile, Ala./B.C. Rain) missed last year because of a knee injury just before the season started. She scored nearly 2,000 points in her high school career, averaging 27.5 points as a senior.
Morgyn Payne (So., Coushatta La/Red River) will also play the point. The transfer from Bossier Parish give the Bulldogs a much-needed 1-2 punch at the 1. Sadie Williams (So., Gonzales La./West Monroe) is another transfer. She arrives from Louisiana Monroe and can shoot the cover off the ball with a high basketball IQ.
There are three returning guards who provide even more punch. Slasher Aniya Saddler (So., Columbus/Columbus), shooter Alisha Tucker (So., McComb/McComb) and athletic Ayanna McNairy (So., Brookhaven/Brookhaven) played big minutes last year, and Beverly Tillman (So., Laurel/Laurel) has stepped up her game this year.
Da'Vashia Epps (So., Port Gibson/Port Gibson) returns for her third season and is providing great leadership, and freshman Amber Scott (Fr., Jackson/Hillcrest) brings hustle to the floor.
Gulf Coast has been known for its post players of late, and there's no shortage of them this year. Sharisse Bridges (So., Jackson/Callaway) is back in the post.
"She shot 53 percent from the 3-point line last year, which is tremendous for her position," Adams said. "It actually puts us in a great position where we can pull her out and it pulls the big man out because you have to guard her from the 3-point line."
TK Catchings (So., New Hebron/Simpson Academy) is a force to be reckoned with in the post, and Shabria Cronan (So., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) is a rebounding machine who will get out and run the floor.
Brieanna Miller (So., Moss Point/Moss Point) transferred in from Pearl River, and she's surprised Adams with all she has in her tool bag.
The MACCC has eliminated division in basketball, so the Bulldogs will play the 14 other teams in the state once instead of slogging through the old South double round-robin
"I think this year the state is pretty even," Adams said. "Of course, Jones is always good. I love the new format. I think it gives us a good chance to just play everybody in the state and gives all the teams an opportunity to prove who they are. In the South, we were always right there scratching to get in the state tournament, where you knew it should be five or six teams in the state tournament and only four of us could get there. I think it gives us a better opportunity to make sure that the best teams are making postseason play."
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
