No. 7 Women's Hoops Faces Oregon In Hawaii Opener
November 24, 2016 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After enjoying some beach time and a luau, No. 7 Mississippi State's focus turns to the hardwood as it opens the Rainbow Wahine Showdown against Oregon on Friday.
The game will be a battle of unbeatens, as both teams bring identical 4-0 records to the Stan Sheriff Center.
Tip for Friday's game is set for 7 p.m. CT. MSU takes on San Jose State Saturday at 7 p.m. CT before wrapping the trip with an 8:30 p.m. CT contest against host Hawaii on Sunday.
WLZA-FM 96.1 will broadcast the opening two games, while Sunday's finale will air on WKBB-FM 100.9. Live audio for all three games will be available on hailstate.com/plus. A live video stream of Sunday's game will be available on www.hawaiiathletics.com.
Mississippi State climbed to No. 7 in both of this week's polls after opening the home schedule with a 79-68 win against then-No. 8 Texas.
SEC Co-Player of the Week Morgan William paced the Bulldogs with 23 points, including 13 at the free-throw line. Fellow junior Victoria Vivians tallied 19 in the game, putting her atop the team scoring lead for the season with 16.5 ppg.
Oregon won its fourth-straight game on Tuesday, defeating No. 24 Michigan State 88-55. Sabrina Ionescu leads three Ducks averaging double figures with 14.8 ppg. Ruthy Hebard averages 11.8 ppg while topping the squad with 7.8 rpg.
The game will be a battle of unbeatens, as both teams bring identical 4-0 records to the Stan Sheriff Center.
Tip for Friday's game is set for 7 p.m. CT. MSU takes on San Jose State Saturday at 7 p.m. CT before wrapping the trip with an 8:30 p.m. CT contest against host Hawaii on Sunday.
WLZA-FM 96.1 will broadcast the opening two games, while Sunday's finale will air on WKBB-FM 100.9. Live audio for all three games will be available on hailstate.com/plus. A live video stream of Sunday's game will be available on www.hawaiiathletics.com.
Mississippi State climbed to No. 7 in both of this week's polls after opening the home schedule with a 79-68 win against then-No. 8 Texas.
SEC Co-Player of the Week Morgan William paced the Bulldogs with 23 points, including 13 at the free-throw line. Fellow junior Victoria Vivians tallied 19 in the game, putting her atop the team scoring lead for the season with 16.5 ppg.
Oregon won its fourth-straight game on Tuesday, defeating No. 24 Michigan State 88-55. Sabrina Ionescu leads three Ducks averaging double figures with 14.8 ppg. Ruthy Hebard averages 11.8 ppg while topping the squad with 7.8 rpg.
BREAKING DOWN THE FIELD
- Mississippi State and Oregon will meet for the second time, with the Bulldogs leading 1-0 after claiming a 68-64 win in the 1997 Kona Classic.
- It will also be the second meeting with Saturday's opponent, San Jose State. The teams first met in 2004, with the Bulldogs winning 66-60 in Starkville.
- Although State has traveled once to the state of Hawaii, they have never faced the Rainbow Wahine.
- Oregon started the season 4-0 following an 88-55 win against No. 24 Michigan State on Tuesday. The Ducks defeated Texas-San Antonio 77-63 on Sunday after opening with wins against Cal State Bakersfield and Lamar.
- Friday's game will be the Ducks' first away from home this season. Sabrina Ionescu leads Oregon with 14.8 ppg. Ruthy Hebard averages 11.8 ppg while pacing the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
- San Jose State heads to Honolulu 1-3 on the year. The Spartans picked up their first win of the year Sunday, defeating Santa Clara 75-64.
- Dezz Ramos leads SJSU in scoring with 23.5 ppg and 21 assists. Second-leading scorer and top rebounder Jasmine Smith averages 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
- Hawaii continues its homestand with a 2-2 record after defeating New Mexico State and Youngstown State last weekend.
- Briana Harris tops the Rainbow Wahine with 11.8 ppg. She's also tied with Keleah-Aiko Koloi for the top rebounding spot with 5.5 per game.
Bulldog Bites
- Mississippi State begins a month on the road with a trek to Hawaii for the Rainbow Wahine Showdown. The Thanksgiving week trip will be State's second to Hawaii. The first came in the 1997-98 season, a venture to the Kona Classic.
- The only other meeting against the Ducks came in the team's first trip to the state for the Kona Classic.
- With Sunday's win against No. 8 Texas, State defeated its highest-ranked opponent under Schaefer and won against a Top 10 team for the first time since 2010.
- The 11-point win was MSU's first at home against a Top 10 non-conference foe since a 74-72 win against No. 2 Louisiana Tech on Nov. 22, 1999.
- State has won 32 of its last 33 regular-season non-conference games going back to 2014-15. That tally includes 12-straight victories. The only loss came last season at Texas.
- State is 25-4 under Schaefer, 22-0 since 2013-14, in the month of November.
- This week's trip to Hawaii is part of a non-conference slate that sees MSU travel 17,190 miles before SEC play opens on Jan. 1.
- Mississippi State matched its highest ranking in school history in the Associated Press poll, coming in at No. 7. The Bulldogs have been in the poll for 39-straight weeks, the ninth-longest active streak in the nation and third-longest among SEC teams, rating behind only Kentucky (126) and South Carolina (76).
- State also rose to No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after defeating No. 8 Texas on Sunday.
- MSU had the program's second-largest attendance with 7,764 for the home opener. It was the third-largest home-opening crowd among SEC teams this season.
- State forced Texas into 24 turnovers, its most in 19 games. The last time the Longhorns turned it over more was Jan. 23, 2016 (25 vs. Oklahoma).
- Mississippi State is third in the SEC and 16th in the nation in turnover margin at +9.5.
- MSU ended Sunday the nation's No. 1 team in 3-point defense, holding foes to 14.6%.
- Victoria Vivians is third in the SEC in field goals made (26), fourth in points (66) and 10th in average (16.5 ppg).
- Morgan William scored a game-high 23 points against the Longhorns, tying a career high with 13 made free throws. It earned her SEC Co-Player of the Week honors.
Players Mentioned
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