JACKSON – Millsaps opened the second half on a 21-3 run to pull away from a five-point halftime lead and picked up a season-high 26 assists as they won their third game in four tries to improve to 5-13 overall with a convincing 74-43 win over visiting Rust College.

The Majors ate up the Lady Bearcats in transition and in the paint, outscoring the visitors 20-2 off the fast break and 34-16 inside. Junior Jessica Bowie scored all eight of her points down low in the second half and Millsaps held Rust to a dismal 16 percent shooting in the frame as they posted 41 points on the scoreboard and held the Bearcats to just 15.

Rust shot 43 percent in the first half before struggling in the second, trailing only 33-28 at intermission, led by sophomore Deanna Allen with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Second-year head coach Mary Bolton's halftime talk lit a fire under the Majors to start the second half, opening the period with an 18-2 run on 8-of-14 shooting to open up a 53-30 lead that the Lady Bearcats couldn't overcome.

Millsaps was led offensively by freshman Ronda Webb who notched a game-high 16 points on 8-of-10 aim in addition to five assists. LaReina Adams added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kristy Dowdy chipped in 12 points off the bench including three 3s.

Crystal Dickerson also had a well-balanced stat line, grabbing a game-high 10 boards to go along with seven points, four assists and four steals. Krista Clark added five assists as well.

Junior Katrina Overby led the visitors from Rust with 10 points, while Allen fell a point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds and Dynyel Presley added seven assists.

The Majors will continue a very important five-game homestand on Friday at 6 p.m., playing host to Rhodes College in SCAC action. Millsaps is battling for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West and will likely need to win three of its remaining seven games to do so.