Mississippi State
Arkansas-Fort Smith (Exh.)
Lady Bulldogs Roll In Exhibition Win Over Arkansas-Fort Smith
November 06, 2011 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's Diamber Johnson poured in a game-high 24 points as the Lady Bulldogs rolled over Arkansas-Fort Smith 84-48 in a women's basketball exhibition game played Sunday afternoon in the Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs controlled the contest from start to finish. MSU excelled on the defensive end, holding the Lady Lions to 21.5 percent field goal shooting, while forcing 17 turnovers. Offensively, Johnson was joined in double figures by Porsha Porter with 20 points and Ashley Brown with 10 points.
"Hopefully, we can work our way toward more balance," MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. "We had too many opportunities under the basket where we did not finish. However, I think our effort keeps getting better. We have come a long way since the start of practice.
"Now, the challenge is to continue to get better."
The contest was never in doubt as the Lady Bulldogs used a 16-1 run to build an 18-3 lead less than nine minutes into the contest. Arkansas-Fort Smith, an NCAA Division II member from the Heartland Conference, struggled to find any type of offensive rhythm in the opening half.
The Lady Lions connected on only 4-of-38 shots from the field for 10.5 percent shooting in the opening half.
After Fort Smith scored five straight points to close within 21-9, the Lady Bulldogs seized complete control of the contest with a 13-3 run to open up a 34-12 lead with 3:29 left in the half.
Johnson had 14 first-half points and three assists on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.
"For the most part, our ball movement was good," Fanning-Otis said. "We were looking at several different combinations. We didn't get as many opportunities out of the transition game as we would have liked. It is all about teamwork and building chemistry. The girls are getting better at court awareness and knowing one another."
Thanks to 41.2 shooting on the offensive end, the Maroon and White eased into a 36-18 advantage at halftime.
An Ashley Brown layup capped a 9-0 run for the Lady Bulldogs over the first two minutes of the second half. The lead pushed past 30 points on a 3-point basket by Shamia Robinson. Robinson's tray capped another 9-0 run and ran the advantage to 59-28 with 12:28 left in regulation.
The lead grew to as many as 38 in the closing minutes.
"Defensively, we have to be in a position where we tell the other team no more often," Fanning-Otis said. "We have to do a better job of taking what the other team wants to do away from them. Our progress on the defensive end has been good. I am happy with the effort.
"We just have to be a little more physical and impose our will a little more. It is a work in the progress. We will get there."
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 31 of 72 shots from the field (43.1 percent), 5 of 18 shots from 3-point range (27.8 percent) and 17 of 30 shots from the foul line (56.7 percent). The Lady Lions hit 14 of 65 shots from the field (21.5 percent), 0 of 13 shots from 3-point range (0.0 percent) and 20 of 30 shots from the foul line (66.7 percent).
The Lady Bulldogs held a 55-48 rebounding advantage. MSU had 14 assists and 17 turnovers, while Fort Smith had four assists and 21 turnovers.
Coby Hill paced Arkansas-Fort Smith with 13 points.
The Lady Bulldogs open their 38th season of women's basketball competition Friday night by hosting Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum. A win in that contest would be Mississippi State's 300th home victory.
