State Women Make It Nine In A Row With 71-63 Win At Utah Valley

Friday, December 19

Orem, Utah

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

9-0

Utah Valley

5-5

Team	1	2	F
Mississippi State	33	38	71
Utah Valley	30	33	63

Lady Bulldogs Roll Against Monticello In Exhibition Affair

State Women Make It Nine In A Row With 71-63 Win At Utah Valley

December 19, 2008 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)

OREM, Utah - Mary Kathryn Govero paced Mississippi State with 16 points as the Lady Bulldogs held off a late Utah Valley rally, beating the Wolverines 71-63 in women's basketball action Friday night at the McKay Center.

With the victory, MSU improved to 9-0. The Lady Bulldogs won for a third time this season on an opponent's home floor. A Division I independent, Utah Valley fell to 4-6. The Wolverines were playing their first ever game against a Southeastern Conference opponent.

“I am awfully proud of this team,” MSU head coach Sharon Fanning said. “When you travel across the country, you have a lot of things to adjust to. The altitude was a big adjustment the first day we practiced. When you travel on the road, you face some adversity.

“I am very proud of this being a team effort. We wrote team on the board after the game; because, everybody contributed to this victory.”

The Lady Bulldogs took the lead for good, at 29-28, on a Govero 3-point basket with 3:21 left in the first half. MSU scored seven of the first half's final 11 points of the opening half to take a 33-30 lead at the intermission.

MSU then scored the second half's first four points to take a 37-30 lead with 18:42 left on a layup by Donnisha Tate. Utah Valley battled back, cutting the deficit to 47-46 on an 8-0 run with 8:21 left.

The Lady Bulldogs responded with 15-6 run to open the game's first double-digit lead at 62-52 with 3:06 left.

“The defense was really good down the stretch,” Fanning said. “We answered their run with one of our own. The rebounding numbers were good. The turnovers-to-assists were also good. We did a lot of things late in the game and found a way to win.”

Govero paced a trio of Lady Bulldogs in double figures. Govero was 6 of 14 from the field and also hit three 3-point baskets to go along with five rebounds. Alexis Rack added 13 points, including an 8 for 8 night at the foul line. Armelie Lumanu also had a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Robin Fairbanks paced the Wolverines with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Sandy Wall was also in double figures with 16 points and added six rebounds.

For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs were 25 of 65 from the field (38.5 percent), 6 of 22 from 3-point range (27.3 percent) and 15 of 21 at the foul line (71.4). UVU was 24 of 55 from the field (43.6 percent), 3 of 17 from 3-point range (17.6 percent) and 12 of 16 from the foul line (75.0 percent).

MSU held a 41-35 rebounding advantage. The Lady Bulldogs had 17 assists and 14 turnovers, while UVU had 15 assists and 18 turnovers.

The Lady Bulldogs resume this five-game road trip with a Saturday night tilt against the University of Utah. The MSU-Utah contest is set for a 7:30 p.m. CT start in Salt Lake City. The contest will be televised nationally by The Mountain Network.