Friday, November 11
Orono, Maine
6:30 PM
Mississippi State
1-0
108
vs
62
Villanova
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villanova | 12 | 14 | 19 | 17 | 62 |
| Mississippi State | 25 | 30 | 25 | 28 | 108 |
Roshunda Johnson scored 21 points to lead No. 10 MSU to a 108-62 win against Villanova.
Johnson's 21 Leads No. 10 MSU To Season-Opening Win
November 11, 2016 | Women's Basketball
BANGOR, Maine – It might have been cold in Bangor, Maine, Friday night, but the No. 10 Mississippi State women's basketball team was red hot inside the Cross Insurance Center.
The Bulldogs put seven players in double figures, led by 21 points from redshirt junior Roshunda Johnson in her debut, in a 108-62 route of Villanova in the opener of the Maine Tipoff Tournament.
Mississippi State tallied the 10th-most points in school history and shot 60.3 percent from the field, the first time a Bulldog squad has eclipsed 60 percent shooting since 2009.
The Bulldogs, who start the season 1-0 for the 13th-straight year, will play for the tournament championship at 6 p.m. CT Saturday against host Maine. The Black Bears knocked off Purdue 67-47 in Friday's first game.
Saturday's championship game will be streamed online on ESPN3.
"I thought we came out and punched first. Villanova is a talented, well-coached team, and I thought our pressure and length really got to them," Vic Schaefer said. "You have to give credit to our team, though. We made a lot of jump shots tonight. I thought we played really hard. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We'll have a real challenge playing Maine on their home floor in front of their crowd."
Mississippi State jumped on top early and never looked back, leading 25-12 after the opening quarter of play. State hit 9 of its 14 shots from the field in the quarter while holding Villanova to just 5 of 13 shooting.
After the Wildcats opened the scoring, Chinwe Okorie and Dominique Dillingham combined for the next eight points as the Bulldogs went up 8-2. Villanova cut the deficit to four before MSU scored the next nine points to go up 13 at 17-4 with 3:20 left.
Jazzmun Holmes later pushed the State advantage to 23-6 with just under two minutes to play, and the Bulldogs held off a late Villanova push to take the 13-point lead to the quarter break.
The Bulldogs broke the game open in the second quarter, out-scoring the Wildcats 30-14. Johnson sparked the run, tallying half of MSU's points with 15 on 6 of 6 shooting.
"That's the kid I thought we were getting when we signed her," Schaefer said of Johnson's performance. "I thought she came in and really did a nice job for us. She ran the point for us in the second half and played some two in the second half."
State shot 13 of 18 (72.2 percent) from the field in the quarter, while limiting Villanova to just 4 of 16 (25 percent).
The Bulldogs built a 19-point advantage at 35-16 before the Wildcats made their first field goal of the period with 5:50 remaining. Johnson gave State that lead with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
After Villanova trimmed the lead to 15, Johnson hit the first of her three 3-point baskets in the game to push the lead back to 18 at 38-20.
State actually out-scored the Wildcats 20-6 the last 4:30 of the half, with Johnson scoring 12 of those points to give MSU a 55-26 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs extended the advantage to 35 with a 25-19 third quarter. Junior Morgan William sparked State out of the half, notching 11 points on 3 of 3 shooting in the stanza.
Morgan William scored seven points as MSU scored the first 14 points of the third quarter to push the lead to 43 at 69-26. The Bulldogs would go on to lead 80-45 at the end of the period.
State continued to shine offensively in the final 10 minutes, knocking down 9 of 17 shots behind six points each from Johnson and freshman Jacaira Allen.
In addition to the 60.3 field goal percentage, MSU went 4 of 5 (80 percent) from 3-point range and 28 of 35 (80 percent) from the free-throw line.
State's defense held Villanova to just 21 of 57 (36.8 percent) from the floor and 1 of 14 from 3-point range.
MSU out-rebounded the Wildcats 44-23 and turned the ball over just six times while forcing 12.
In addition to Johnson's 8 of 9 night from the field, Holmes and William added 12 points each. Three MSU players – Okorie, Dillingham and Teaira McCowan – scored 11 points each, while Allen tallied 10 in her debut.
Okorie paced State on the boards with eight, while McCowan added seven and Allen six.
The Bulldogs put seven players in double figures, led by 21 points from redshirt junior Roshunda Johnson in her debut, in a 108-62 route of Villanova in the opener of the Maine Tipoff Tournament.
Mississippi State tallied the 10th-most points in school history and shot 60.3 percent from the field, the first time a Bulldog squad has eclipsed 60 percent shooting since 2009.
The Bulldogs, who start the season 1-0 for the 13th-straight year, will play for the tournament championship at 6 p.m. CT Saturday against host Maine. The Black Bears knocked off Purdue 67-47 in Friday's first game.
Saturday's championship game will be streamed online on ESPN3.
"I thought we came out and punched first. Villanova is a talented, well-coached team, and I thought our pressure and length really got to them," Vic Schaefer said. "You have to give credit to our team, though. We made a lot of jump shots tonight. I thought we played really hard. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We'll have a real challenge playing Maine on their home floor in front of their crowd."
Mississippi State jumped on top early and never looked back, leading 25-12 after the opening quarter of play. State hit 9 of its 14 shots from the field in the quarter while holding Villanova to just 5 of 13 shooting.
After the Wildcats opened the scoring, Chinwe Okorie and Dominique Dillingham combined for the next eight points as the Bulldogs went up 8-2. Villanova cut the deficit to four before MSU scored the next nine points to go up 13 at 17-4 with 3:20 left.
Jazzmun Holmes later pushed the State advantage to 23-6 with just under two minutes to play, and the Bulldogs held off a late Villanova push to take the 13-point lead to the quarter break.
The Bulldogs broke the game open in the second quarter, out-scoring the Wildcats 30-14. Johnson sparked the run, tallying half of MSU's points with 15 on 6 of 6 shooting.
"That's the kid I thought we were getting when we signed her," Schaefer said of Johnson's performance. "I thought she came in and really did a nice job for us. She ran the point for us in the second half and played some two in the second half."
State shot 13 of 18 (72.2 percent) from the field in the quarter, while limiting Villanova to just 4 of 16 (25 percent).
The Bulldogs built a 19-point advantage at 35-16 before the Wildcats made their first field goal of the period with 5:50 remaining. Johnson gave State that lead with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
After Villanova trimmed the lead to 15, Johnson hit the first of her three 3-point baskets in the game to push the lead back to 18 at 38-20.
State actually out-scored the Wildcats 20-6 the last 4:30 of the half, with Johnson scoring 12 of those points to give MSU a 55-26 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs extended the advantage to 35 with a 25-19 third quarter. Junior Morgan William sparked State out of the half, notching 11 points on 3 of 3 shooting in the stanza.
Morgan William scored seven points as MSU scored the first 14 points of the third quarter to push the lead to 43 at 69-26. The Bulldogs would go on to lead 80-45 at the end of the period.
State continued to shine offensively in the final 10 minutes, knocking down 9 of 17 shots behind six points each from Johnson and freshman Jacaira Allen.
In addition to the 60.3 field goal percentage, MSU went 4 of 5 (80 percent) from 3-point range and 28 of 35 (80 percent) from the free-throw line.
State's defense held Villanova to just 21 of 57 (36.8 percent) from the floor and 1 of 14 from 3-point range.
MSU out-rebounded the Wildcats 44-23 and turned the ball over just six times while forcing 12.
In addition to Johnson's 8 of 9 night from the field, Holmes and William added 12 points each. Three MSU players – Okorie, Dillingham and Teaira McCowan – scored 11 points each, while Allen tallied 10 in her debut.
Okorie paced State on the boards with eight, while McCowan added seven and Allen six.
Team Stats
VU
MS
FG%
.368
.613
3FG%
.071
.800
FT%
.731
.800
RB
24
43
TO
12
6
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballWOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell, Favour Nwaedozi vs Florida - 3/4/26
Wednesday, March 04
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell Media Session - 2/24/26
Tuesday, February 24
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell Media Session - 2/18/26
Wednesday, February 18
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Highlights at Arkansas - 2/16/26
Tuesday, February 17