Bulldogs win to set up crucial finale

Mississippi Gulf Coast held on in its last regular-season road trip Thursday, holding off Copiah-Lincoln 60-59 in Wesson to set up a pivotal finale Monday.

Archrival Pearl River comes to Dantzler Arena, and the Bulldogs need a win to claim a share of the MACCC crown. They'll need to win by 12 points to be the top seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Basketball Tournament.

"We jumped on it early," Gulf Coast coach Hope Adams said. "The first half, we really locked down on defense. Going down the stretch, we just lost some defensive assignments, and they got the momentum, but I was just proud of the fact that we stood together and we were able to shoot down the stretch and got a big stop at the end to close out the game on the road. It's always tough to come over here and get a win at Co-Lin."

Katelyn Brinkley (So., Ridgeland/Ridgeland) led Gulf Coast with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, including a big bucket late. Nautica Bouie (So., Panama City, Fla./Rutherford) had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Taelar Felton (So., Clinton/Clinton) chipped in with 12 points.

Gulf Coast improved to 17-5, 11-2. The Bulldogs have clinched a home playoff game, but they need to beat PRCC to avoid losing a three-way tiebreaker with Meridian and Northwest Mississippi and earn a bye.

Co-Lin is 14-10, 6-7.

Gulf Coast led by eight with six minutes left, but the Wolves started chipping away. They made two free throws with 1:57 left to get within 55-54, but Brinkley answered with a layup with 91 seconds left.

"Having her back has been a big thing for us this year, especially her coming off that injury," Adams said. "Tonight, she was able to dominate the glass, as well as give us that inside presence that we know that she can give us after going through a couple injuries over the last two weeks."

The Wolves got a layup of their own before Felton delivered a driving runner along the baseline and got fouled with 43.6 seconds left. She made the free throw for a 60-56 lead.

Co-Lin made a 3-pointer with 35.8 seconds left, and after a Gulf Coast miss, the Bulldogs got a stop with 15 seconds left and were able to run out the clock.

Tipoff on Monday against Pearl River is set for 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.