WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Mississippi College upends LeTourneau 75-55
LONGVIEW – The Mississippi College Lady Choctaws benefitted from a pair of 21-point performances Thursday as they defeated the LeTourneau YellowJackets 75-55 at Solheim Arena.
Jalessa Taylor and Traci Rodgers each tossed in 21 points as the Lady Choctaws (13-5, 8-5 ASC East) snapped a three-game losing streak. Rodgers came off the bench and was 7-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc.
LeTourneau junior Cait Collins (Fort Worth, Texas/Hardin-Simmons) led three YellowJacket players scoring in double-figures. Collins drained three 3-point shots and led LeTourneau with 13 points.
La'Queda Davis (Houston, Texas/Waltrip) and Jessica Manas (Haltom City, Texas/Haltom City) each scored 10 points for the YellowJackets. Davis also grabbed a game-high six rebounds.
LeTourneau (2-15) fell to 1-11 in American Southwest Conference play.
The YellowJackets jumped in front early and led by as many as nine points with 9:39 remaining in the first half. The two teams played back-and-forth basketball until the Lady Choctaws finished the last 2:42 of the first half with a 14-0 run.
Mississippi College pulled away from their hosts thanks to forcing 34 LeTourneau turnovers during the game.
Mississippi College took a 40-26 lead into halftime. The visitors' lead never fell below 10 points in the second half, and reached as many as 24 points after the midgame break.
The Jackets shot effectively, knocking down 44 percent (20 of 46) of their field-goal attempts, and made half (6 of 12) of their 3-point shots. However, the Choctaws were even more efficient, shooting 55 percent (30 of 55) from the field and 63 percent (7 of 11) from the 3-point circle.
The YellowJackets return to action Saturday when they host ASC-East leading Louisiana College. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
