CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team will look to close out 2014 with their third straight victory when they host Valdosta State University on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in A.E. Wood Coliseum.
This will be the 22nd all-time meeting between the two schools with VSU holding a 13-8 advantage. MC has won seven of the last nine games with the last contest coming back in 1994-95 when the Lady Choctaws defeated the Lady Blazers in the GSC Tournament, 94-74.
Head coach
Paul Allen Duke earned his 336th win on Saturday afternoon against Christian Brothers, marking the 700th win in program history, dating back to 1970. Duke is the winningest coach in school history and has the highest winning percentage (.685).
Duke coached Thursday night with a heavy heart after his father, Paul, passed away on Saturday night after a lengthy battle with cancer. He is slated to coach his 500th career game this season with the game against West Alabama on January 24th projected to be the milestone.
The Lady Choctaws are coming off their best win of the season on Thursday night, erasing a 16-point deficit and handing West Florida their first Gulf South Conference loss of the season in a 56-55 victory. UWF took a lead with just 16 seconds remaining, but MC would answer when
Ashley Minor converted a fast-break layup and the Argos' last-second shot attempt was missed.
Minor finished the game with a double-double, tallying 20 points and 10 steals, marking the highest single-game steal total for a Lady Choctaw in school history. She is now the leading scorer on the team with 11.8 points per game and is averaging 17.5 points over the last two victories.
The MC defense has been stout this season, holding all but one opponent to below 36% shooting and three opponents have shot lower than 30%, including West Florida on Thursday. MC had a season-high 15 steals on Thursday, turning 22 UWF turnovers into 20 points.
The Lady Blazers are led by head coach Kiley Hill, who has won 261 games over his 15-year career at the helm. VSU had won 6-of-7 games before a 76-46 loss at Delta State on Thursday night. DSU shot 58% from the field and 20-of-26 from the free throw line.
April Thomas leads the team with 13.0 ppg, while Iimari Simpson is also averaging in double-figures with 12.6 ppg. Amy Duke leads the way with 5.3 rebounds per contest, while Maylisa Johnson has a team-high 3.5 assists per game.
