#1 Lady Bearcats Fend Off Pesky #8 Bulldogs, Breakaway In Second Half

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Rust College women's basketball program advanced past the GCAC Quarterfinals for the third consecutive campaign as they withstood a closer than expected halftime score, catapulting past Tougaloo College on the strength of a 26-6 third quarter to ultimately win comfortably, 77-49.

The Basics: 

• Score
• • #1 Rust – 77
  • #8 Tougaloo – 49

• Records
• • #1 Rust (26-3, 17-1 Gulf Coast)
  • #8 Tougaloo (8-19, 6-12 Gulf Coast)

• Location
• • Tuscaloosa, Alabama – Birthright Alumni Hall

• Series History
• • Rust Leads 18-14 (56.3%)

• Winning Streak
• • Rust (W11) | Tougaloo's Last Win: February 25, 2019 (67-64)

Rust Top Performers: 

• Niya McGuire was the Lady Bearcats' best scorer on the night with 14 points on 6-of-11 (54.5%) while dishing out more assists than the entire Tougaloo squad combined (3) with a game-high four while also grabbing eight boards.

• Musharapha Alhassan made a return to the starting lineup and went for a club-most nine rebounds including five on offense, tallying the Blue and White's lone block as well as a half-dozen points.

• Kennedi Green tied McGuire in the dimes department at four while a trio of student-athletes; Blesseth Dillingham, Zoe Alexander, and Ahmari Young; all co-led the top seeded Cats with a pair of steals each.

• Dekeriya Patterson was the top reserve from a scoring perspective, dropping a dirty dozen's worth by making half of her eight tries to the hoop while all of her buckets were triples (4-for-6, 66.7%).

• The final double-figure point producer also came off the bench in the form of Amelya Hatch's 11 with Diamond Sweats just missing the cut as she contributed nine.

Next:

• The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Semifinals will take place on Saturday at either 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. versus the winner of the #5 Oakwood Ambassadors vs. #4 Dillard Bleu Devils matchup on Friday afternoon.

#RustLaFamilia | #TheDynasty | #PawsUp | #GCACRising