Mississippi Gulf Coast rallied to tie their Thursday contest at East Central with 2:30 left to play, but the Lady Warriors pulled away for a 76-72 win in Decatur.

East Central (14-3, 5-3 MACJC South) earned a split in the season series, with Gulf Coast falling to 8-7, 4-4. The Lady Bulldogs are in fifth in the division, with the top four teams qualifying for the state tournament.

The Gulf Coast inside game against carried the offense, with Kayla Simmons (Fr., Brandon/Brandon) scoring 18 and grabbing seven rebounds. Daphane White (Fr., Gulfport/St. Martin) added 14 and a team-high nine rebounds, and Azaria Howard (So., Richland/Richland) had 10.

Breannah McCullah (So., Edwards/Raymond) and Amber Sutton (Fr., Jackson/Madison Central) had 10 each.

Gulf Coast returns to action Monday when Copiah-Lincoln visits Perkinston. Co-Lin is tied with East Central and Pearl River for second in the division. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

The game will be streamed at http://livestream.com/mgcccbulldogs.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.