Mississippi Colege Athletics

MONTEVALLO, Ala. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team pulled away late to run its win streak to three as it topped the University of Montevallo on Sunday, Dec. 12 at Trustmark Arena. MC improved to 7-3 on the season and 2-1 in Gulf South Conference action. The Falcons fall to 4-5 and are even at 1-1 in league play.
 
Alana Canady led the way in the scoring column. The Sherwood, Ark., native led a trio of Choctaws in double figures with 14 points. A pair of freshmen joined Canady in double-digits as Amelia Bell added 12 points and Ally Alford chimed in 10. NeNe Williams paced the squad on the glass with nine rebounds as the squad grabbed 47 as a team. It's the most in GSC play for the Navy and Gold and third most this season. MC shot 38.1 percent from the field and connected on 76.5 from the charity stripe.
 
Jordan Jones and Shyan Flack each scored in double figures for the Purple and Gold. Jones led the way with 15 points followed by Flack's 12. Savannah Lee grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the team. UM shot just 27.8 percent from the floor and a 57.9 clip from the free-throw line along with 46 rebounds.
 
Both teams struggled from behind the arc in the contest. MC was just 2-of-16 from behind the arc while the Falcons went 4-for-24.
 
A Kiya Sain, 3-pointer placed UM in the lead for the first time since the 2:22 mark of the third quarter and the Falcons held the advantage until 4:57 left to play when a pair of Bell free throws gave the Choctaws back the lead and they never looked back. The two buckets were part of a 12-2 scoring run. The lead swelled to 63-54 – the Choctaws' largest lead of the game – with 42 ticks left on the clock as Bell scored on a layup from Dezirae King.
 
The win gives the Choctaws their fourth in the series. It also lands the Navy and Gold its first win at Montevallo since Feb. 8, 2018; an 80-64 decision.
 
"What a great win in a very difficult place to play," said head coach Greg Long. "I had a lot of concerns before the game with our kids in finals and it showed, but at the end of the day, these young women battled together and found a way to pull it out. Our bench was huge and this is our best win of the season. Now we have to build off this, refocus and get ready for a very talented squad on Saturday."
 
Montevallo held as much as a 10-point lead in the second quarter, 21-11, but saw its lead evaporate as the Choctaws closed out the period on a 19-5 run and took a 30-26 lead in at the break. With the advantage at the intermission, MC continued its streak of 10 consecutive games leading at the half this season.
 
The two teams exchanged leads throughout the third quarter and saw four deadlocks – the last coming at 42-all with just under two minutes to play in the quarter – but a pair of King free throws gave the Choctaws a two-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
 
Mississippi College returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 18 as it hosts Union (Tenn.) University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.