TUSKEGEE, Ala. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball season opened the 2021-22 campaign with a 46-41 victory over LeMoyne-Owen College in its first game in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-Gulf South Conference Crossover on Friday, Nov. 12.
 
Mississippi College opened from pillar to post in the contest, only seeing the score tied twice the entire 40 minutes of play.
 
Freshman Amelia Bell paced the Choctaws in scoring with 12 points and paced the squad on the glass with nine rebounds in her debut. Sophomore Kyiah Julian added 10 points.
 
MC doubled up the Purple and Gold after the first 10 minutes of play and held a 28-23 advantage at the break. The Choctaws grabbed their largest lead of the game on the first bucket of a second quarter as Bell knocked down a jumper to place the Navy and Gold up 16-7 with 9:35 to play in the opening half. LOC rallied to tie the contest at 23-all with 46 ticks before the half, but five consecutive points from NeNe Williams gave MC a five-point lead at the intermission.
 
The Lady Magicians chipped away at the lead in the third stanza as they pulled within 28-27 with under six to play in the quarter, but MC responded with an 8-0 run and take a 36-27 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play. Bell, Whitney Johnson and Ally Alford all contributed during the run. LOC made one last gasp at overcoming the deficit as it narrowed the margin to within two points on a couple of occasions, however, buckets from Bell and Dezirae King closed out the contest.
 
Jayla Fuller led LOC in scoring with 16 points while Takya Bennett grabbed eight boards.
 
Mississippi College returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 13 as it takes on SIAC-GSC Crossover host, Tuskegee University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. It marks the first meeting between the two programs.
 

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Inside the Box
- Mississippi College improved to 5-1 in the series with LeMoyne-Owen and picked up its first win against the Lady Magicians since Nov. 17, 2018 in Clinton. MC is now 14-5 all-time against the SIAC.
- With the victory, Greg Long has won all three season openers as a head coach. MC defeated UAH, 72-48, in his debut campaign in Clinton last season. Long's Blossoms beat Upper Iowa 51-41 in his first game as a head coach at Arkansas-Monticello.