The men’s and women’s basketball teams played the first-round games in their respective 2021 Gulf South Conference (GSC) Quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 2 in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs defeated the West Florida Knights, 69-46. The team was led by GSC West Player of the Year, Jalencia Williams, with 23 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Emily Beard scored 14 points, and first team All-GSC West pick Shanique Lucas scored 13. Mark Campbell, GSC Coach of the Year and Lady Bulldog’s head coach, felt that their victory came from the players’ focus on the details.
“I think we had people be really attentive to details,” said Campbell. “It kind of narrows your focus when you play in the tournament, so I think players tried to go out of their way to give effort in the details.”
The Bulldogs fell to the West Georgia Wolves, 77-61. The team was led by second team All-GSC West pick Tylandrius Parks with 13 points and GSC West Freshman of the Year Justin Debuck, who had 12. Redshirt freshman forward Dusan Djordjevic also scored 12 points. Despite the loss, assistant coach Sean Blackburn felt that the season was positive in terms of the team’s growth.
“We saw a lot of guys grow on the court, but also spiritually,” said Blackburn. “On the court a lot of people got better, a lot of people exceeded expectations, so we’re definitely hoping that next year we can build on it.”
Going forward, Blackburn says the focus is on figuring out what could have been better from a coaching perspective and on continuing the culture that was set this season.
“That would be us just watching film, and taking care of it on our end,” said Blackburn. “From there it’s making sure our guys are improving, whether it be some guys in the weight room or some guys who need to be better on the court.”
As the Lady Bulldogs advance to the GSC Semifinals, Campbell says the mindset going forward is to continue doing everything as a team.
“I think one thing is to just make sure we’re being together,” said Campbell. “And if that’s true, we end up serving each other.”
The Lady Bulldogs will face the University of Montevallo in the second round of the GSC Championship tournament on Friday, March 5 at 6 p.m. in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium.
