Friday, November 10
Starkville
8:00 PM
Mississippi State
1-0
68
vs
53
Virginia
0-1
1
2
3
4
F
Virginia
10
13
14
16
53
Mississippi State
14
19
21
14
68
No. 4 MSU Raises Banner, Opens New Season With Win Against Virginia
November 10, 2017 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – When Mississippi State found its defensive prowess Friday night, things got much easier.
Victoria Vivians had 22 points, while Roshunda Johnson added 18 points as No. 4 MSU opened its new season with a 68-53 win over Virginia before a crowd of 6,811 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Chloe Bibby added 13 points in her Bulldog debut.
In the pregame, last season's team was honored and former Bulldogs Ketara Chapel, Dominique Dillingham and Chinwe Okorie joined Schaefer to unveil the 2017 NCAA National Finalist banner before its rise to the rafters of the Hump.
In the contest, the Bulldogs overcame a slow start on the offensive end to cruise to victory.
"That felt like an NCAA Tournament game," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "Virginia is going to have a great year. This was a heck of a game to play for the opener. I have been sick preparing for what all they like to do.
"We had to play a lot of young players a lot of minutes. We leaned on some veteran players (Morgan William, Roshunda Johnson, Victoria Vivians and Jazzmun Holmes). The only reason we won the game is because we defended."
With her first make of the game, a 3-pointer, Vivians moved into third place in MSU scoring history and now has 1,776 career points.
She continued a personal 8-0 run for an 8-2 lead. The Bulldogs would then struggle offensively for the rest of the quarter while holding a 14-10 lead.
Virginia battled back for an 18-16 lead midway through the second quarter. A 3-point play by Chloe Bibby placed the Bulldogs on top. The Bulldogs would then score six straight points with a 3-point play by Vivians running the lead to 27-20.
The Bulldogs hit 3 of 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half and led 33-23 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs hit 5 of 8 3-point shots and created some separation. Back-to-back treys by Bibby and Roshunda Johnson ran the lead to 49-29 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
Teaira McCowan finished with seven points, a team-high 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bulldogs. Vivians added seven rebounds, while Morgan William had eight assists.
"We have a long way to go," Schaefer said. "When we made our run, it was on defense. If it wasn't for transition, it would have been a long night. The kids played hard tonight. The crowd was great. This was a special night for this university."
For the contest, MSU hit 25 of 63 shots from the field (39.7 percent), 9 of 27 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 9 of 11 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent). Virginia hit 19 of 48 shots from the field (39.6 percent), 3 of 9 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 12 of 15 shots from the foul line (80.0 percent).
MSU held a 35-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 16 assists and 17 turnovers, while the Cavaliers had seven assists and 23 turnovers.
Virginia received 17 points from Dominique Toussaint. Felicia Aiyeotan had a team-high seven rebounds.
MSU will host Georgia State at 7 p.m. next Thursday.
Victoria Vivians had 22 points, while Roshunda Johnson added 18 points as No. 4 MSU opened its new season with a 68-53 win over Virginia before a crowd of 6,811 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Chloe Bibby added 13 points in her Bulldog debut.
In the pregame, last season's team was honored and former Bulldogs Ketara Chapel, Dominique Dillingham and Chinwe Okorie joined Schaefer to unveil the 2017 NCAA National Finalist banner before its rise to the rafters of the Hump.
In the contest, the Bulldogs overcame a slow start on the offensive end to cruise to victory.
"That felt like an NCAA Tournament game," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "Virginia is going to have a great year. This was a heck of a game to play for the opener. I have been sick preparing for what all they like to do.
"We had to play a lot of young players a lot of minutes. We leaned on some veteran players (Morgan William, Roshunda Johnson, Victoria Vivians and Jazzmun Holmes). The only reason we won the game is because we defended."
With her first make of the game, a 3-pointer, Vivians moved into third place in MSU scoring history and now has 1,776 career points.
She continued a personal 8-0 run for an 8-2 lead. The Bulldogs would then struggle offensively for the rest of the quarter while holding a 14-10 lead.
Virginia battled back for an 18-16 lead midway through the second quarter. A 3-point play by Chloe Bibby placed the Bulldogs on top. The Bulldogs would then score six straight points with a 3-point play by Vivians running the lead to 27-20.
The Bulldogs hit 3 of 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half and led 33-23 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs hit 5 of 8 3-point shots and created some separation. Back-to-back treys by Bibby and Roshunda Johnson ran the lead to 49-29 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
Teaira McCowan finished with seven points, a team-high 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bulldogs. Vivians added seven rebounds, while Morgan William had eight assists.
"We have a long way to go," Schaefer said. "When we made our run, it was on defense. If it wasn't for transition, it would have been a long night. The kids played hard tonight. The crowd was great. This was a special night for this university."
For the contest, MSU hit 25 of 63 shots from the field (39.7 percent), 9 of 27 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 9 of 11 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent). Virginia hit 19 of 48 shots from the field (39.6 percent), 3 of 9 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 12 of 15 shots from the foul line (80.0 percent).
MSU held a 35-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 16 assists and 17 turnovers, while the Cavaliers had seven assists and 23 turnovers.
Virginia received 17 points from Dominique Toussaint. Felicia Aiyeotan had a team-high seven rebounds.
MSU will host Georgia State at 7 p.m. next Thursday.
Team Stats
VA
MS
FG%
.396
.397
3FG%
.333
.333
FT%
.800
.818
RB
34
35
TO
23
17
STL
6
14
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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