At a time when the Lady Bears needed to play a stellar brand of basketball, Thursday's game at Mississippi Gulf Coast arguably may have been their best game all season.
Southwest grabbed the lead a little over 5:30 in and never relinquished it, picking up a 61-50 win over the Lady Bulldogs.
"We executed really well and defensively we played with a lot of heart," Southwest head coach Brent Harris said. "It was a good win. This is a hard place to come in (and play at). We executed and found some buckets, but defensively is where we hung our hats tonight."
Early in the contest, both teams were jockeying for position and trying to get their games established.
At the 4:13 mark, the Lady Bears (16-10, 6-7 MACCC) grabbed an 8-5 lead on the first of two 3-pointers in the quarter from freshman Gracie Miller. It was a lead that Southwest would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
In the beginning stages of the second quarter, Kara Beth Addison began to find a rhythm, getting a basket and a free throw.
Not long afterward, Southwest established its presence in the paint with a pair of makes from Bethany Graves, the second of which came at the 4:08 mark and gave the Lady Bears a 20-12 advantage.
Addison closed the quarter with two more baskets, helping give Southwest a 26-19 lead at the half.
The Lady Bears came out swinging in the third, with a 9-3 run highlighted by a three-point play from Graves that kick-started the rally.
Gulf Coast answered back with a 3-pointer followed by a three-point play, but Southwest had a response of its own in the form of a 9-0 run, with four of the points coming from Moosie Walls. The run also gave the Lady Bears their largest lead of the night at 16 points.
Leading 44-32 heading into the fourth, Southwest kept Its foot on the gas, getting a 3-pointer from Mookie Lampley followed by a three-point play from Addison, which drew an emotional cheer from the sophomore.
"It's huge and when you get one, your team is just as hyped as you are and that's momentum," Addison said.
Down the stretch, the Lady Bears watched their lead slip a bit as the Lady Bulldogs rattled-off seven-consecutive points. But the damage had already been done as Southwest got one more basket from Addison before claiming the nine-point win.
Addison led Southwest with 16 points. Lampley posted 11 while Graves and Kalea Williams each had 10.
Bears use late surge to secure win at Gulf Coast
Following what was a back-and-forth battle between Southwest and Gulf Coast for most of Thursday's contest, a late surge by the Bears made the difference as they defeated the Bulldogs 75-67 in the final road game of the regular season.
"That was an awesome game," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "We've been through a lot this year as a team, we lost a lot of games that we wish we could have had back. I just told my guys that I am super proud of them for not getting discouraged, staying together, continuing to work, continuing to improve. We got so much better tonight. I am just so proud of our guys. Incredible, incredible effort."
Both the Bears (16-12, 7-6 MACCC) and the Bulldogs got things going early on offensively.
At the 15:03 mark, Southwest trailed 10-4 but quickly pulled within one following a 3-pointer by Jaylen Haliburton and a basket from Robert Flantroy.
Not long afterward, Tylik Weeks began to get into a groove, pacing the Bears to stay within range. Southwest took a 25-23 lead at the 7:35 mark but quickly lost momentum, once again trailing by six.
The Bears did not panic and got back to playing their brand of basketball, as LeVionnne Lindsey connected on a basket before another 3-pointer from Haliburton fell.
Despite this, Gulf Coast scored five of the final eight points of the quarter as Southwest trailed 36-33 at the half.
Just a couple of minutes into the second half, the Bears fell behind and trailed by seven, its largest deficit of the night. But Southwest got a basket and a three-point play from Weeks to narrow the gap to two at 40-38.
The Bears trailed but stayed within striking range before a 9-0 run, which culminated with a Hami Ndiaye 3-pointer — the first of two for the sophomore forward — gave the visitors a 48-43 lead.
After Gulf Coast tied the game, Josh Schonback connected on a field goal pushing Southwest back on top. It was a lead that the Bears would not give up for the remainder of the game.
Key offensive rebounds, Schonback jumping on a loose ball to maintain possession and big baskets from Haliburton, Weeks and Schonback complemented clutch free throws from Flantroy and Lindsey as the Bears held on to preserve the win.
Following the game, Weeks said that the victory was huge, as it was a big test for his team.
"I felt like all-around it was a gritty game for the whole team," he said. "We all contributed in our own way."
Weeks led Southwest with 26 points while Lindsey had 15, Ndiaye 10 and Haliburton 9.
