Fans Get First Look At Hail State Hoops In Maroon-White Scrimmage

Preseason All-SEC selection Victoria Vivians tallied 21 points in Wednesday's Maroon-White Scrimmage.

Fans Get First Look At Hail State Hoops In Maroon-White Scrimmage

October 26, 2016 | Women's Basketball

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Fans got a first look at the Mississippi State women's basketball as it went through five quarters of scrimmage action Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

Junior preseason All-SEC selection Victoria Vivians led eight Bulldogs in double figures with 21 points. Blair Schaefer hit 6 of 12 field goals, 5 of 9 from 3-point range, to tally 17 points.

Sophomore point guard Jazzmun Holmes contributed 15 points and six assists, while junior Morgan William chipped in 14 points while assisting on eight baskets.

Three Bulldogs claimed double-doubles. Sophomore Teaira McCowan pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go with 14 points, Chinwe Okorie added 10 points and 12 boards, and freshman Ameshya Williams chipped in 13 points to go with 10 rebounds.

"Overall, I was pleased. I thought Blair (Schaefer) shot the ball well and our point guards (Holmes and William) played well also," Schaefer said. "I thought Ameshya played well, and Iggy (Jacaira Allen), our other freshman, brought energy to the floor. Both Chinwe and Teaira shot a high percentage; we just didn't get them the ball enough. Overall, it's not anything I wasn't expecting.

"We had some people step up and shoot the ball well. I think that's important for us. Again, our point guards, Morgan and Jazz, were pretty good. I thought our young kids played pretty well, or at least played with a lot of energy."

Vic Schaefer split his squad for the opening two quarters, with the Maroon squad taking a 45-38 edge. Schaefer tallied 12 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Dillingham, Holmes and Okorie notched 10 points each. Okorie also claimed eight rebounds.

Maroon started the scrimmage hot, scoring the first seven points behind buckets from Okorie and William and a 3-pointer by Vivians.

The White squad responded with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the contest with 7:15 left. McCowan started it with a layup, and a triple from Dillingham and bucket by Holmes capped it.

Maroon extended the lead to 13-9 with a pair of Schaefer 3-pointers before a Breanna Richardson layup pushed the Maroon out to a six-point cushion with 5:32 left in the opening quarter.

Schaefer tallied six points as the Maroon ended the opening quarter with a 23-15 lead. Okorie added five points, three coming in the final half of the quarter.

Dillingham topped White in the first stanza with five points. Holmes and McCowan scored four apiece.

White rallied in the second quarter, with a William old-fashioned 3-point play cutting the Maroon advantage to four at 29-25. Schaefer, who also switched to the White squad between quarters, also added to the comeback with her third 3-pointer of the scrimmage.

With 6:40 left, Holmes knocked down a 3-pointer that pushed the Maroon lead to 32-27, but Schaefer answered on the other end with a triple to cut the Maroon advantage to two at 32-30.

Moments later Williams put back a miss to tie the game at 32 each, but fellow Gulfport, Miss., native Holmes put the Maroon back on top with a 3-pointer.

The Gulfport contingent continued to impress as Williams put in a bucket to cut the Maroon lead to 35-34. Okorie pushed the Maroon back up by three, but William drove to the bucket for the White to trim the lead back to one at 37-36.

A Ketara Chapel bucket and Dillingham 3-pointer off a steal put the Maroon in front 43-36 with 2:17 left in the second quarter.

Vivians gave Maroon the final 45-38 lead on a jumper.

Mississippi State wrapped the scrimmage with three additional 10-minute quarters against its men's practice team.

Vivians scored 14 of her 21 points over those final three periods. She paced the Bulldogs in the third quarter with four points on 2 of 4 shooting.

She added five points in the fourth, matching Schaefer and Roshunda Johnson for the most on the squad as MSU claimed a two-point edge.

The Carthage, Miss., native capped the night tallying five of the team's 13 points in the final 10-minute quarter.

The Bulldogs host former MSU assistant Elena Lovato and Arkansas-Fort Smith in a 6 p.m. exhibition game on Nov. 3. State officially begins the season Nov. 11 against Villanova at the Maine Tipoff Tournament.