Bulldogs put clamps on Delta

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast's typical smothering defense claimed another victim Monday night, with the Bulldogs beating Mississippi Delta 60-39 at Dantzler Arena.

Gulf Coast, which is receiving votes in the national poll, came into the night with the nation's sixth-stingiest defense and lowered the average even more.

 "We pride ourselves on that right now, especially going down the stretch," Bulldogs coach Hope Adams said. "We've got to be able to get stops, especially when we're going on scoring droughts. The focus moving forward is that we've got to be able to get in our offense quicker. We've got to be able to execute in the halfcourt so that we make our job a little easier when we are getting stops."

Gulf Coast (12-3) stayed perfect through six MACCC games and won its eighth straight. Ariana Peagler (So., Hoover, Ala./Hoover) and Nautica Bouie (So., Panama City, Fla./Rutherford) led the Bulldogs with 13 points, and Taelar Felton (So., Clinton/Clinton) added 11.

The Bulldogs put the clamps on Delta in the second quarter, holding the Trojans to six points. In its previous home game, Gulf Coast outscored Hinds 30-1. They were up 30-16 at halftime, and the 21-point final margin was the biggest of the game.

Katelyn Brinkley (So., Ridgeland/Ridgeland) battled foul trouble, but Vannah Wilson (Fr., Bossier City, La./Parkway) scored nine in her first significant minutes of the season.

"Savannah came in and gave us some great minutes tonight," Adams said. "We've been ready to get her back so that we'll have that post combo with her and Brinkley. All we can do is keep trying to get better down the stretch. We haven't peaked yet, which is a great thing, but we've got some tough opponents coming up down the road."

Delta, which was playing its first game in 11 days because of the ice storm that paralyzed Northwest Mississippi, is 6-8, 0-5.

The Bulldogs travel to Scooba on Thursday to play East Mississippi. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

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