COLUMBUS, Miss. – A trio of Mississippi University for Women players tallied in double-digit scoring to lead a 65-61 win over Toccoa Falls College at Pohl Gymnasium. Heading the Owls' win over the Eagles were Rokila Wallace, MG Chamberlain and Maddie Guerin, as the hosts had their third-highest shooting percentage (47%) in a game this season.
 
"We saw some growth today," The W Head Coach Drew Johnson said. "We started out really strong versus man defense, something we've been struggling with. We finally saw what happened when Rokila, MG, and Maddie are all clicking. Each had some really good moments. Those were some big time free throws at the end by Maddie, especially considering she's a freshman. I felt like Hannah (Duran) did a good job on both ends getting us into our sets on defenses."

"We don't have long left in the season, but I'm excited to see what the next steps are for this group."
 
Wallace, who was coming off of what was arguably one of her most frustrating games as an Owl (four points) in last Thursday's loss to Blue Mountain, was back on track versus the Eagles. Wallace finished with a team-leading 20 points. She hit 6-of-16 from the floor and was a perfect 8-of-8 on free throw attempts.
 
It was Wallace's ninth game with 20-plus points scored. It was also her 13th – in 14 games played – in double-digit scoring in 2021-22.
 
Chamberlain continued her impressive run since the Owls came back from the Winter break, booking 19 points and pulling down six rebounds. Chamberlain, who has a streak of four-straight games in double-figure scoring, hit 5-of-12 field goal tries and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. She also had one The W's two blocks in the game.
 
The freshman Guerin had the best scoring game of her young college career by registering 15 points. Guerin shot 4-of-6 from the floor and went 7-for-7 from the line, all while hauling in a game-leading nine rebounds. She also had the Owls' other blocked shot.
 
Other offensive production came from Jasmine Shaw and Hannah Duran with four points each. Cassidy Murphy added three to round out The W point total.
 
MUW led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, but a stubborn Eagles' team would not go away. Buoyed by 34 points from it starting guard Jaliyah Howard, TFC got the lead back late in the third quarter (36-34) after trailing since the opening stanza.
 
The Eagles made a pair of free throws that cut the Owls' advantage to a precarious 63-61 with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. Guerin was fouled with seven tics on the game clock, calmly sinking both free shots to ice the win for her team.
 
On an afternoon when neither team had its full complement of roster players – TFC had seven and the Owls eight – available, it became a matter of efficiency as MUW hit 20-of-43 from the field as a team and made good on 25-of-28 free throws. The W also won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Eagles by a 37-28 margin.
 
The Owls also doubled up on Toccoa Falls, 32-16, on points in the paint.
 
Next up for The W is its final road match of the season at Belhaven University on Thursday (Feb. 10/5:30 p.m.) in Jackson.