CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team returns to the hardwood on Thursday, Feb. 14 as it travels to Valdosta, Ga., to face Valdosta State University. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. central. The road swing concludes on Saturday, Feb. 16 in Pensacola, Fla., and the University of West Florida. Tip at UWF is set for 2 p.m.
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE PREVIEW / NOTESÂ
• Mississippi College is coming off its best offensive performance of the season against No. 7 Union on Saturday, Feb. 9. The Lady Choctaws were perfect from the free throw line and tied a season-high 44.4 percent from the 3-point line with a season-high eight 3-pointers made.
•
Zan Ratcliffe became the third Lady Choctaw to score 20-plus points in a game against Union. The Taylorsville, Miss., native led the team with a career-high 21 points. The senior joins
Lauran Sheriff (20 pts.) and
Jamilah Sanders (22 pts.) on the list.
• Junior
Zariah Matthews sits second in the GSC in free throw percentage. The Bogue Chitto, Miss., product is shooting 81.9 percent from the charity stripe. Delta State's Nia Johnson leads the league with a clip of 83.1.
• Sophomore
Lauran Sheriff ranks third in the conference in blocked shots. The Jackson, Miss., native is hovering around one block per game. Sheriff has four games this season with mulitple rejections.
• Ratcliffe ranks among the top 10 in assists per game this season in the GSC. Ratcliffe averages 3.0 assists and sits eighth in the league. The senior has five games this season with five assists or more.
• A pair of Lady Choctaws are averaging double figures this season. Matthews leads the team with 10.9 points while
Coco Hobson sits second with 10.1 points per game.
Jamilah Sanders and
Lauran Sheriff sit just outside the double-digit scorers with 9.8 and 9.1 points respectively. Hobson leads the squad in rebounds with 7.1 boards per contest.
• MC looks to snap a three-game skid to Valdosta State. The Lady Choctaws last win over the Red and Black came on Jan. 21, 2017 in a 65-63 decision at The Complex on VSU's campus.
• Valdosta State enters Thursday having won five of its last six outings en route to a 16-7 record and 10-5 in the GSC. The Lady Blazers lone loss during the stretch came on Feb. 7 at West Georgia.
• VSU has two players averaging double figures in scoring this season. Kayla Bonilla leads the team with 11.8 points per game while Crystal Townsend is second on the team averaging 11.2 points. Townsend also leads the team in rebounds with 7.4 per contest.
• The Lady Choctaws look to win its second game in three meetings with West Florida. The two squads have split the last two contests with UWF getting an 87-70 win in Clinton earlier this season. MC seeks its first win in Pensacola since Jan. 12, 1995 - the first meeting in the series between the two schools.
• West Florida enters the weekend riding a nine-game win streak and sporting a 19-4 record and 13-3 in the conference. The Argonauts last loss came on Jan. 10 in Cleveland, Miss.
• Halee Nieman leads a trio of players averaging double figures with 18.2 points per game. Belle Bistrow sits third on the team with 12.2 points per contest. Toni Brewer sits as the only player in the conference to average a double-double this season with 17.7 points and 10.9 boards per contest.
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 2016-17 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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