MONTGOMERY, Ala. --- The Mississippi College women's basketball team opened the 2012 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Huntingdon College with a 74-60 loss to Maryville College (Tenn.) on Friday morning at the Roland Center.

After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Lady Choctaws (6-4) cut the halftime lead to just 37-28 as senior Ebony Williams made two of three free throws after being fouled on a half-court shot right before the break.

Williams led MC with 18 points and eight rebounds, her third consecutive double-digit scoring game after scoring 18 against Mary Hardin-Baylor and 17 against Hardin-Simmons.

The Lady Choctaws came out strong in the second half as junior Jasmine James hit a jumper with 12:13 remaining to tie the game at 48-48.  The Lady Scots (7-1) scored the next nine points and never led by less than seven points the rest of the way.

Senior Valeri Stewart had a strong game with nine points, four rebounds and four steals.  As a team, the Lady Choctaws shot just 38% (22-58) from the floor, while Maryville was 30-61 (49%).

Janell Menard led the Lady Scots with 24 points, going 10-17 from the floor and 4-7 from behind the three-point line.  Kiera Payne had 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the win.

The Lady Choctaws will be back in action on Saturday when they face Hanover College at 9:00 a.m.  Maryville will face Millsaps at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.