Women Clinch Share Of Regular Season Title For Fourth Straight Season

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Rust College women's basketball program is one step away from securing its fourth NAIA Tournament appearance in five years, getting the job done with an easy 83-43 landslide victory at Oakwood Thursday evening.

The Lady Bearcats have clinched at least a share of the regular season championship for the fourth consecutive campaign, needing only to beat second-place Fisk at home on Saturday to lock up the automatic qualifier.

The Basics: 

• Score
• • (RV) Rust – 83
  • Oakwood – 43

• Records
• • (RV) Rust (24-3, 16-1 Gulf Coast)
  • Oakwood (10-17, 7-10 Gulf Coast)

• Location
• • Huntsville, Alabama – Ashby Auditorium

• Series History
• • Rust Leads 13-1 (92.9%)

• Winning Streak
• • Rust (W11) | Oakwood's Last Win: January 28, 2008 (65-58)

Rust Top Performers: 

• Amber Scott easily had her best game as a Lady Bearcat, shooting 71.4% (5-for-7) as the Mississippi Gulf coast CC transfer crossed into double-digits on the scoreboard for the first time (10).

• Niya McGuire stayed red-hot of late, connecting on half of her 14 field goal attempts for team-best 15 points while also leading both teams in the rebounding statistic at nine and contributing three dimes.

• Blesseth Dillingham continues to be a fundamental staple of Coach Jackson's arsenal, once again pacing all student-athletes in both assists (4) and steals (3) in addition to five points and three boards over 16 minutes.

• Diamond Sweats bounced back from a rough outing on the Islands, dropping a dozen points and half that amount on the glass.

• Karyn Ford was accurate and noteworthy, going for 11 via 5-of-8 (62.5%) shooting and five missed shots hauled in.

Next:

• It's a heavyweight battle inside the W.A. McMillan Center with an automatic berth to the national tournament on the line so make sure to back the gym on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the penultimate regular season clash between Fisk and Rust.

#RustLaFamilia | #TheDynasty