PINEVILLE, LA- In a rematch of last year's season opener, the Millsaps Majors women's basketball team fell 72-67 to Louisiana College in a hard fought, non-conference contest on Monday. 

Velvet Johnson led the Majors in scoring for the third straight game, dropping 21 to lead all scorers. She was one of three Majors in double figures, joining Kelli Randle who had 10 off the bench and Kala-Jewel Freeman who had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. 

The matchup re-introduced the Majors to Louisiana College's unorthodox style consisting of heavy, full-court pressure and frequent subsitutions of three to five players at a time.

The Wildcats started quickly, grabbing leads of 8-2 and 12-4. The Majors steadily began chipping away at the lead and jumpers by Randle and Freeman as well as a pair of free throws that got Johnson going and got Millsaps within two at 16-14. Johnson continued her hot hand and scored seven straight points to give the Majors a 19-16 lead. After a Sam Perez jumper, the Majors led 28-26, but a 10-5 run to end the half gave Louisiana College a 36-33 halftime edge. 

A quick 8-1 run by LC to start the second 20 stretched the lead to 10 at 44-34. The Majors got it to within 5 at 50-45 with just over 13 minutes remaining but a 10-2 run over the next three minutes gave the Wildcats their biggest lead at 60-47. Again, the Majors began chipping away. Threes by Beverly Holmes and Johnson jump started a furious rally by the Majors who closed the LC lead to three at 68-65 with 30 seconds left. 

Despite shooting just 44-percent from the line for the game, the Wildcats were steady from the foul line down the stretch. They withstood the Majors' rally, handing the Majors their first loss, 72-67. 

The Majors at 2-1 will rematch with Covenant College this Saturday at Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The Majors defeated Covenant 82-53 as part of the Berry Tip-Off Classic this past weekend. Tip time is set for 1pm central time. 

Some notes from the game: 

The Majors held Louisiana College to just 32 percent shooting, but 26 Majors' turnovers led to 32 Wildcat points... The Majors handled the Wildcat pressure, turning it into 18 fast break points...The Majors out rebounded the Wildcats 47-45 including game high 12 from Freeman and Miah Brooks...Millsaps had seven blocked shots including three from Freeman and Kim Klunk...Sam Perez had a game-high nine assists...Millsaps shot 46 percent from three-point range (6-13)