With apologies to Hollywood, some might describe the coaching style of Meridian Community College’s Hilary Allen – as well as the play of his Lady Eagles – as fast and furious. When the Lady Eagles locked up with another run-and-gun team in Gulf Coast here Monday night at MCC’s Ivy Sports Center, fans surely expected a shootout. And that’s what they got. MCC put five players in double figures and just missed with another, and the Lady Eagles held off a late rally from Gulf Coast to beat the Lady Bulldogs 107-100 in a South Division barnburner. “You had two teams that love the fast break, and two teams in my opinion that are really good at it,” Allen said after his squad improved to 12-6 overall and 5-2 in division play. Meridian put up 47 points in a tit-for-tat first half, but Gulf Coast trailed by just three after a 19-point showing from Brittney Reese. But the Lady Eagles shut Reese down in the second half – quickly building a double-digit lead. “We had some kids who came out and did a good job for us on defense,” Allen said. “I know in a game where both teams score 100 points, it’s hard to talk about defense, but (Reese) killed us in that first half. “I thought we made some good adjustments … of course, they made adjustments, too. They shot the ball well in the second half and they just wouldn’t go away.” Gulf Coast, 11-7 overall and 2-5 in division action, was within eight when Holly Dial nailed a 3-pointer for Meridian that got the Lady Eagles rolling again. But even though MCC led by 17 with just under 5 minutes remaining, the Lady Bulldogs got as close as six points with the ball before the final buzzer. “I was thinking ‘Run, clock, run,’” Allen said. “But it just wouldn’t run.” Reese finished with 21 points for the Lady Bulldogs, while Davina Wells had a game-high 30. Jade Chatman scored 15, Shaquenta Lee tallied 11 and Gail Weary scored 10. Danielle Cooper scored 25 points for MCC – 19 in the second half – and Carala Latham tossed in 20. The Lady Eagles also got 14 points from Dial, 10 each from Courtney Wade and Carmelita Naylor and nine from Hilal Yildrim. “Carla and Hilal both did a good job early for us and Danielle had a huge second half,” Allen said. “We had a lot of kids to step up.” The Lady Eagles return to action Thursday, when they visit Hinds in another division tilt. EDITOR’S NOTE: The MCC men’s game against Gulf Coast was not completed by press time.