• Official Stats
JACKSON -- Senior \#Jessica Bowie\# scored a season-high 19 points off the bench in her final home game as a Major and fellow senior \#Crystal Dickerson\# netted her 1,000th career point with 4:08 left in regulation from the charity stripe as Millsaps stayed alive for a spot in the SCAC Tournament in two weeks with a 65-62 win over Southwestern on Sunday.
Millsaps won the battle on the boards with a 37-27 edge -- including 22 offensive rebounds -- and got to the free throw line a season-high 37 times, knocking down 31 of those for 84 percent which proved to be the difference in the game.
The Majors shot just 29 percent in the opening half on 8-of-28 aim, compared to 48 percent from Southwestern, but took a 31-28 lead into intermission after closing the half with a 10-3 run.
Freshman \#Janice Okeke\# scored 10 of her 18 points in the first period, while Dickerson played just eight minutes after picking up three quick fouls and sat out the final 9:20.
The lead changed 10 different times in the second half, including eight times in the opening 5 minutes.
Southwestern took its largest lead of the game, 48-42, with 12:03 to play after a Narisa Trammell 3-pointer, and held off several mini-runs over the ensuing 8 minutes, before Millsaps rallied to tie the game at 52-52 with 6:16 to play. Another Trammell 3-pointer put SU back up 55-52 before a fire was lit under the Majors' senior class and they took over.
A 9-0 Millsaps run over the next 4:41, coupled with five Pirate turnovers, gave the Majors their largest lead at 61-55 with 2:35 to play and set up for an exciting finish. Seniors \#Tiffany Whitmore\#, Dickerson and Bowie combined for all nine points during that stretch.
SU twice cut it to a point with 1:17 and 20 seconds remaining but two clutch free throws from Okeke and \#LaReina Adams\# stretched the lead to three both times and sealed the win. Adams' steal off the inbounds pass with 2 seconds left was a fitting end to a solid four-year career as the rest of the Majors' team surrounded her with excitement.
Behind Bowie's 19 points and six boards, Okeke finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Adams had 10 points, five rebounds and a game-high five steals. Standout Natasha Azizi finished with a game-high 24 for the Pirates on 9-of-11 shooting, whereas Trammell added 12 and Stacey Mullins 11.
Millsaps controls its own destiny in making an appearance in the SCAC Tournament in two weeks, simply win at Hendrix next Saturday and they're in. The Majors, however, may know their fate on Friday night with Hendrix and Austin College both in action.
