Mississippi State
7-3
Mississippi Valley State
2-7
Lady Bulldogs Oust Devilettes, 61-49
December 20, 2010 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State parlayed a quick start into a 61-49 win over in-state rival Mississippi Valley State in a women's basketball game played Monday night in the Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs (7-3) won for the fourth time in their last five outings by starting strong. MSU led 15-1 right at nine minutes into the contest. The Delta Devilettes did not convert a field goal attempt until the 11:04 mark of the opening half.
“Toughness will define this team this year,” MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. “Right now, we are teaching our team how hard you have to play. Valley plays that way for 40 minutes. We knew that coming in. They had already taken two (Southeastern) conference teams (Arkansas and Ole Miss) right down to the wire.”
The early offensive flurry included a pair of 3-point baskets by Mary Kathryn Govero. It also included solid defense as the Delta Devilettes were turned over five times during the early run.
MVSU (2-7) eventually found an offensive rhythm. A 3-pointer by Olivia Kennedy cut the MSU lead to 25-16 with 2:40 left in the opening half.
The Maroon and White led 27-18 at the intermission.
In the final 20 minutes, the Lady Bulldogs again started on fire, scoring the first seven points of the final half. A layup by Ashley Brown ran the advantage to 34-18 with 19:00 left in the game.
The strong defensive play continued throughout the final half. A 3-pointer by Katia May and follow-up layup by Catina Bett capped an 8-2 run and ran the advantage to 42-22 with 14:31 left in the contest.
The guests responded with the game's
next eight points but could get no closer than the final margin the remainder of
the way.
The Lady Bulldogs have now held all but two opponents to less than
36 percent shooting from the floor. Monday's win marked the third time this year
that MSU has forced 20 or more turnovers by an opponent.
Still, the turnovers on the offensive end proved a major concern for the MSU coaches Monday night.
“We had too many turnovers on offensive possessions,” Fanning-Otis said. “We got out-worked on the boards. Those are learning lessons for us. We have to play hard the whole game to be a good basketball team. We can't play up-and-down to the competition.
“We have to learn how to work hard on every possession. If we do that, we can get a lot better.”
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 22 of 61 shots from the field (36.1 percent), 5 of 16 shots from 3-point range (31.3 percent) and 12 of 19 shots from the foul line (63.2 percent). The Delta Devilettes hit 19 of 58 shots from the field (32.8 percent), 4 of 15 shots from 3-point range (26.7 percent) and 7 of 12 shots from the foul line (58.3 percent).
Each team finished with 42 rebounds. MSU had 10 assists and 14 turnovers, while MVSU had six assists and 24 turnovers.
Bett finished with a career-high 16 points. Govero added 15 points, while Diamber Johnson was also in double figures with 10 points. Bett managed her first double-double with the Maroon and White, as she also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Brown had nine rebounds.
Ka'Neshia Smith paced Valley with 12 points. Alia Frank just missed a double-double, scoring nine points to go along with a game-best 11 rebounds.
The Lady Bulldogs close out 2010 with a pair of games in the Lehigh University-hosted Christmas City Classic in Bethlehem, Pa. Up first, MSU faces Buffalo in a 4 p.m. CT tip on Dec. 29.
