CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team opens Gulf South Conference action on Thursday, Nov. 27 as it hosts the University of Montevallo. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. The Lady Choctaws travel to Livingston, Ala., on Saturday, Dec. 1 for a 2 p.m. tip against the University of West Alabama.
GAME NOTESÂ
• Mississippi College and Montevallo meet for the fifth time in series history with the Lady Choctaws holding a 3-1 advantage, including a sweep of the Falcons last season. UM's lone win in the series came on Feb. 22, 1993 with an 82-49 victory on their home floor.
• MC and West Alabama meet for the 25th time in program history. The two squads are split winning 12 games each. The Lady Choctaws and Tigers have split the last four meetings in the series with UWA claiming the last contest 72-58 on its home floor.Â
• Mississippi College's
Zariah Matthews registered a season-high 15 points in the 58-57 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Tuesday, Nov. 20. The victory snapped a losing skid to the Cotton Blossoms and placed the Lady Choctaws up 3-2 in the series. Matthews registered season-highs in rebounds, steals and blocks against UAM. Matthews is the only Lady Choctaw to average double figures this season and has scored in double-digits in all four contests with 13.3 points per game.
• The Lady Choctaws outrebounded UAM 45-36 on Tuesday evening. It marks the fourth time this season the Navy and Gold have outrebounded its opponents this season. MC holds a plus-7.5 advantage on the glass over its opponents and has recorded 40-plus boards in its last three contests.
• Mississippi College leads the GSC in free-throw percentage this season. The Lady Choctaws are shooting 78.8 percent from the charity stripe. Montevallo ranks second in the league shooting 71.8 percent. Junior
Emery Wilson ranks second in the conference with a 91.7 clip from the stripe while
Zan Ratcliffe (83.3) and Matthews (82.6) sit sixth and seventh.
• Sophomore
Lauran Sheriff is tied for third among the GSC leaders in blocked shots. Sheriff has totaled five blocks this season (1.3/game). Katie Speegle from UAH leads the league (1.5) with Morgan Martin from Union (1.4) in second. Sheriff is tied with Jayda Dooley from West Georgia.
• MC head coach
Paul Allen Duke and UM head coach Gary Van Atta are among the most tenured head coaches in the GSC. Duke is in his 24th season in Clinton while Van Atta is in his 29th season as a head coach. Delta State's Craig Roden joins Van Atta with 29 seasons as a head coach, including three stops in the conference (West Alabama, West Georgia.)
• Montevallo looks to snap a two-game slide this season after falling at Washburn University (67-59) and to Newman University (70-65) at the Washburn Thanksgiving Classic. UM opened the season with a pair of wins over Spring Hill (87-76) and Tuskegee (71-65). Nautika Philpot leads Montevallo with 16.8 points per game with Kourtnie Smith second on the squad with 11.5 points. Smith leads the Falcons on the glass with 9.2 boards per game.
• West Alabama is 2-4 on the season after defeating Oakwood on Nov. 26. Chloe Culpepper leads the Tigers in scoring with 10.3 points per game. Culpepper also ranks second on the team in rebounds averaging 5.7 boards. Tazsa Garrett-Hammett leads the Red and White in rebounds with 6.2.
Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2018-19 academic year.
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The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.
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