TOUGALOO, Miss. - A commanding first-half performance lifted top seed Rust to a first win over Southern University at New Orleans at the 2023 Hope Credit Union GCAC Women’s Basketball.
Rust jumped out to a 10-point lead and continued to pile on the points.
By halftime, the Lady Bearcats led 31-19, paced by seven points from Derekiya Patterson.
Scrappy SUNO battled in the second stanza adding points late in the game but were unable to overcome the deficit that began in the first half.
The Lady Knights were able to move to within eight, 41-33, late in the third quarter. However, Rust would not be denied, adding 20 more points in the final quarter en route to its 64-47 win.
Patterson logged a team-high 12 points and Katie Blackmon recorded a game-high seven rebounds.
Three Lady Knights reached double figures, led by Jordan Harris with 11 followed by Aalexuz Bourne and Mckenna Harris each with 10 points.
No. 1 Rust will face the winner of #4 Wiley College and #5 Dillard University on Saturday, February 25 at 5 p.m. in the semifinals of the 2023 Hope Credit Union GCAC Women’s Basketball Championship.
Between quarterfinal sessions, GCAC announced its postseason award winners.
Coach of the Year
Eric Jackson, Rust College
Assistant Coach of the Year
Anthony Cooper, Fisk University
Newcomer of the Year
Maya Buckhanon, Fisk University
Freshman of the Year
Nekaya Williams, Oakwood University
Defensive Player of the Year
Maya Buckhanon, Fisk University
Player of the Year
Maya Buckhanon, Fisk University
All-Defensive Team
Maya Buckhanon, Fisk University
Myia Yelder, Philander Smith College
Dasia Turner, Philander Smith College
Katie Blackmon, Rust College
Dilliard, Ariana Hart, Dillard University
All-GCAC Second Team
From Wiley, Diamond Hawthorne, Wiley College
From Fisk, Anayah Davis, Fisk University
From Oakwood, Nekaya Williams, Oakwood University
From Wiley, Kaitlyn Davis, Wiley College
And from Tougaloo, Berniya Hardin, Tougaloo College
All-GCAC First Team
From Fisk, Maya Buckhanon
From Philander Smith, Myia Yelder
From Dillard, Ariana Hart
From Rust, Katie Blackmon
And from Philander Smith, Dasia Turner
