PENSACOLA, Fla. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team will play their second straight road game on Saturday afternoon when they face the University of West Florida at 2:00 p.m. in the UWF Field House.
This will be just the 4th all-time meeting between the two schools with MC winning the first three matchups. The two teams have not played in Pensacola since the 1994-95 season when the Lady Choctaws won, 85-71. Back on December 18th, the Lady Choctaws hosted the previously undefeated Argonauts in A.E. Wood Coliseum and came away with a 56-55 win, erasing a 16-point first-half deficit.
Ashley Minor led MC with 20 points and an MC record 10 steals. Katie Bobos had 16 points and 18 rebounds for the Argos. The MC defense held UWF to just 23% (6-of-26) shooting in the second half.
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 (.674). Duke earned his 300th career victory over January 14th, 2012 against East Texas Baptist.
The Lady Choctaws jumped out a 28-19 lead on the road against Valdosta State, but the Blazers used a 18-4 run to grab a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the night.
Kristen Sampson scored 24 points for MC, coming within one point of tying her season-high of 25 points she scored against Lane earlier this season. Sampson was 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from the three-point line.
Sampson (12.5 ppg) leads the team in scoring and is shooting 43% from the three-point line this season. She has scored in double-figures in all but seven games this season and has scored 20 or more in the last two contests. Minor (11.2 ppg) is also averaging in double-figures this season and has a team-high 48 steals.
After starting the season 6-3, the Lady Choctaws have dropped nine of their last 11, including a five-game losing streak. During that stretch, however, they came from behind to pick up a 74-69 victory over rival Delta State.
The Argonauts, led by 3rd-year head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton, are sitting in second in the Gulf South Conference standings and are poised to clinch a first-round home game to open the GSC Tournament. Since their loss to MC back in December, UWF has won 8-of-11. They have compiled a 9-2 mark at the UWF Field House this season.
Toni Brewer is the team's leading scorer (14.2 ppg) and rebounder (9.4) on the season, shooting 42% from the field. Five different Argonauts are averaging double-figure points, and Briann Brewer leads the team with 63 assists and 54 steals, while scoring 10.4 points per game. Bobos averages 10.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, while Jasmine Wigfall leads the team with 22 blocked shots.
