It was another tough night on the road for the Southwest basketball teams as the Lady Bears dropped a 76-53 decision at Mississippi Gulf Coast and the Bears went down 94-79.
The Southwest ladies (3-12, 0-4 South) found themselves in a 14-2 hole with 11:59 left in the first half. But, seven Shanekqua Bibbs points helped spur a 15-6 run that pulled the Lady Bears to within three points, 20-17, with 4:24 on the clock. Gulf Coast then regained their composure and held a 29-21 lead at intermission.
After another Bibbs basket drew Southwest to within seven points, 38-31, with 15:48 left in the game it was all Gulf Coast (9-6, 3-2 South) the rest of the way. Outscoring their visitors 26-7 over the next 8:00, the Lady Bulldogs pulled out to a 64-38 lead and left the gym with the easy win.
“I thought our kids really played hard and battled,” said Southwest head coach Brad Phillips. “We just struggled shooting the ball and getting easy baskets (and) their size and depth wore us down.”
Bibbs led all scorers with 22 points on the night. Shaniece Sheffield was also in double figures with 18 points. Cassie Berry contributed five points while Lacey Orr had four. Julencia Brown and Alex Newsome both netted two. The Lady Bears hit nine of 15 free throws. Orr led the team with 10 rebounds.
Shameika Hart led the Gulf Coast with 16 points. Gulf Coast was good on 15 of 29 free throws.
