Mississippi State
4-0
Maryland
3-1
#25 Lady Bulldogs Remain Perfect By Rolling Over Maryland, 84-55
November 22, 2009 | Women's Basketball
• Official Statistics
• Official Statistics (PDF)
• Postgame Quotes (PDF)
• FREE M2M VIDEO: Coach Fanning-Otis' Postgame Press Conference
• FREE M2M VIDEO: Postgame Player Interviews
STARKVILLE, Miss. - In its first true test of the young season, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State women's basketball team passed with flying colors, routing 20th-ranked Maryland 84-55 Sunday afternoon inside the Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs complete a season-opening, four-game homestand with four victories. Each win was by at least 29 points. In its first contest against a ranked opponent, the Lady Bulldogs again led from start to finish in a contest that was never in doubt.
The victory made amends for Maryland's 80-73 victory last season in College Park.
The hosts broke a 2-2 tie with a spirited 15-1 run, much to the delight of the season-high 3,042 in attendance. Once establishing the double-digit advantage, the Lady Terps got no closer than nine points (at 17-8) for the remainder of the contest.
"It was a complete team effort," MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. "I am proud of the tenacity, energy and focus level we displayed tonight. It was a 40-minute effort. It is the type of mindset that you need to take the floor with to be successful in our league."
MSU senior guard Alexis Rack capped a monster night going for a career-high 43 points. For MSU, it was its 10th-ever 40-plus point game for an individual player. Rack's performance ranks tied for fourth all-time in the MSU record books, trailing a 48-point game by LaToya Thomas and 47-point game from Tan White.
"This was a big win for our team," Rack said. "However, we can't stop working. This week is going to be a very big challenge for us. This was the first of four real important games for this team. However, you could see us working together as a team today. When we play defense and make shots, we have a chance to be successful."
Behind 51-percent shooting in the opening half, the Lady Bulldogs sprinted to a 48-25 halftime advantage. In the final half, the lead grew to as many as 32 once and 30 on five different occasions.
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 31 of 70 shots from the field (44.3 percent), 10 of 26 shots from 3-point range (38.5 percent) and 12 of 20 shots from the foul line (60.0 percent). The Lady Terps hit 16 of 52 shots from the field (30.8 percent), 5 of 21 shots from 3-point range (23.8) and 18 of 24 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).
MSU had 21 assists and 15 turnovers, while UM had four assists and 28 turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs have now forced 21 or more turnovers in each of their first four victories.
For MSU, Mary Kathryn Govero had 12 points, while Chanel Mokango just missed a double double with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Maryland received a team-high nine points and team-high 12 rebounds from Lynetta Kizer. Teammate Jackie Nared also had nine points and 10 rebounds - all on the defensive end.
The Lady Bulldogs now hit the road for their first competition of the season, playing three games in as many nights in the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands. MSU plays Texas at 7 p.m. CT on Thanksgiving night. The balance of the tournament schedules includes Rutgers at 4:45 p.m. CT Friday and Southern Cal at 4:45 p.m. CT Saturday.
Back in the Humphrey Coliseum, MSU hosts in-state rival Southern Miss at 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 2.
