Lady Dawgs Head to Mississippi in Need of a Win

Game 24: Fisk University Lady Bulldogs (8-13, 8-7 HBCUAC) at Rust College Bearcats (9-14, 7-8 HBCUAC)

Date/Time: Saturday February 8, 2025, 1 p.m. (CST)

Watch: UEN Network

Location: Holly Springs, Mississippi – Rust College

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. (February 7, 2025) – Saturday, the Fisk University Lady Bulldogs will head to Mississippi in search of a much-needed win when they take on the Rust College Bearcats in HBCUAC Eastern Division play. (1 p.m. CST Urban Edge Network). Fisk finds themselves in a tough situation for postseason seedings after falling to Wilberforce on Thursday. Rust, winners of three of their last four games, sit only one game behind the Lady Bulldogs in the standings and have not lost at home to Fisk all time.

In the loss to Wilberforce, Fisk fell down by 18 points but fought back to cut it to one but couldn't take the lead. Senior Jayla Bibbs did all she could, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, ten coming on the offensive end. No other Lady Bulldog scored in double figures, but A'Niya Young also grabbed 13 rebounds, and Dee Scott gobbled up 11.

The emphasis for Fisk head coach Victoria Crawford is the necessity of finding ways to boost complementary scoring for the Lady Bulldogs to succeed. It needs to start on Saturday.

 "JB (Bibbs) played well, but she didn't get much support. Sometimes it's Keeli (Burton-Oliver), or Dee. When we play well, we have balance. We need to get back to that," she stated. The team's ability to perform at their best relies on a balanced offensive approach, with multiple players contributing to the scoreboard, it gives the defense problems."

Key Matchup

Rust has four players that average between 14.6 and 9.6 points per game, but it is Patsy Johnson that stirs the drink. The athletic guard can do it all. She leads the team in scoring, but also contributes on the glass, and is one of the best finishers in the conference. Bibbs will have to use her quickness and length to try to subdue Johnson. The rest of the team will need to play solid on the other three top scorers.

WMG Pick2Click

Fisk will need to cut down on turning over the ball against an aggressive Rust defense. This will have to be a team effort, including the bench players.

Lady Dawgs at A Glance

Senior Leadership

The days of college players playing for four years at one school have become a loss art. The Fisk Women's Basketball Team has done a pretty good job of keeping players in school through their eligibility. With a mixture of returning players and transfers, Fisk started the season with nine seniors on their roster. The team heads into the second semester with seven.

Mia Robinson, Dee Scott and A'Niya Young are three holdovers from the highly decorated "Notorious Nine" recruiting class of 2021. They join Jayla Bibbs, Keeli Burton-Oliver, Courtney Lumpkins, and Ami McClow as the seven seniors.

Playing Big

The front court duo of Burton-Oliver and Scott have been a tough tandem in the paint for opponents. Burton-Oliver was named Newcomer of the Week two weeks ago. She scored 20 plus points in two of the three games that week. Scott has been a force on the defensive end and has raised her scoring average to 10.2 points per game.  

UP NEXT: The Lady Bulldogs will be off until next Saturday when they take on Wilberforce University at home for Senior Night.