CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team opens their final homestand of the season on Thursday night by hosting the University of North Alabama at 6:00 p.m. in A.E. Wood Coliseum.
This will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools with MC holding a 6-3 advantage in the series. The Lady Choctaws are 4-0 in Clinton against UNA, but the teams have not played in Mississippi since the 1992-93 season, an 81-73 victory for MC. The Lions won the meeting earlier this season, picking up a 78-69 victory on December 5th in Florence.
Kristen Sampson led the Lady Choctaws with 21 points, going 7-of-10 from the field. Jennifer Towne led UNA with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Head coach
Paul Allen Duke coached his 500th career game on Saturday, January 24th at West Alabama. He began his 20-year career at MC in the 1995-96 season and is the all-time leader in school history in wins (339) and winning percentage (.673). Duke earned his 300th career victory over January 14th, 2012 against East Texas Baptist.
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, a free throw by
Deizarae McCoy with 14:20 remaining in the game cut West Florida's lead to 40-37 on Saturday afternoon. The Argonauts would go on an 11-0 run and not lead by fewer than 12 points the rest of the way as they handed MC their sixth straight loss in a 74-53 contest in Pensacola.
Ashley Minor led MC with 16 points and four steals, while the Argos were led by Brianna Williams and Jasmine Wigfall with 19 points apiece.
Sampson (12.4 ppg) and Minor (11.4 ppg) are the team's leading scorers this season as Sampson is shooting 41% from the three-point line and Minor has a team-high 52 steals.
Zaneta Kubicka is averaging 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and her 25 blocked shots this season is the most by and Lady Choctaw in a single-season since Shayla McLin tallied 25 blocks in the 2005-06 season. Jackie Jackson holds the record for most blocks in a season with 68 in 1993-94.
The Lions, led by head coach Missy Tiber, are currently tied for 5th in the Gulf South Conference standings with West Georgia and are looking good for a postseason tournament spot. The goal is to be in the top four at the end of the regular season as each of those teams will host a first-round playoff game on their campus. UNA has not had a winning or losing streak of more than two games this season and come into Thursday's contest having won their last two over Shorter and Lee. The Lions are 6-3 away from home this season, but they have not played a road game since January 24th against Valdosta State.
Jennifer Towne (13.9 ppg) is the team's leading scorer and has a team-high 40 steals on the season. She is shooting 72% (90-of-125) from the free throw line and 42% from the floor. Mekena Randle (6.9 rpg) is the team's leading rebounder and is the only other player averaging in double-figures (10.6 ppg). Janae Lyde, despite missing nine games this season, has a team-high 72 assists.
