VALDOSTA, Ga. ---The Mississippi College women's basketball team dropped a 76-58 outcome on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 19th-ranked Valdosta State University. MC moved to 8-7 on the season and 3-5 in the Gulf South Conference. The Blazers improved to 13-2 and 8-1 in the conference.
 
The loss snapped two-game win streak in the series for the Navy and Gold.
 
Ally Alford and Dezirae King each posted double figures in the setback. Alford paced the squad with 18 points off the bench. It's the ninth time this season the Batesville, Miss., native has scored in double digits and seventh straight.
 
King scored a season-high 11 points. It's the first game in double figures for the Houston, Texas, product and her first since she posted 14 on Feb. 27, 2021 at Henderson State University during her time at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
 
Alana Canady grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team. It's fourth time this season she's paced the team on the glass. Amelia Bell pulled down six to finish second on the squad. The Choctaws totaled just 24 rebounds on the day – a season low.
 
MC shot 33.9 percent from the floor, including a 32.0 clip from behind the arc, and connected on 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.
 
Nicole Heyn led the Blazers with a double-double as she totaled 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Tamiya Francis posted a team-high 17 points while Mallory Odell rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
The Red and Black shot 52.9 percent from the 3-point line to help spur a 48.0 percent shooting performance from the field. The Blazers were equally impressive from the charity stripe as they connected on 19-of-23 for 82.6 percent.
 
VSU opened the contest with a 17-0 run and held a 20-2 lead after the first 10 minutes and grabbed as much as a 21-point lead in the second stanza. However, MC outscored the Blazers 26-19 in the second period and trimmed the deficit to 11 points, 39-28, at the intermission. The Choctaws hit four of their last five shots in the opening half – all three coming from behind the arc.
 
MC kept the pressure on to start the third 10 minutes of action as it posted a 10-2 run to pull within two, 41-38, at the media timeout (4:50). Kyiah Julian, Amelia Bell and Ally Alford each provided points during the spurt. However, the Red and Black wouldn't let the Choctaws take the lead as it closed out the last four-plus minutes on a 17-4 run to hold a 55-45 margin heading into the final period.
 
VSU opened the fourth on a 13-0 run to extend its lead and hold a 68-49 advantage at the final media timeout before it claimed the 19-point victory.
 
Mississippi College returns to action on Thursday, January 20 as it hosts Lee University. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m.

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