No. 13/14 Bulldogs Look To Bounce Back Sunday At Ole Miss
February 20, 2016 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 13/14 Mississippi State looks to bounce back from a pair of tough losses Sunday when the Bulldogs head to Oxford to face in-state rival Ole Miss.
The contest, which will be nationally televised on ESPN2, tips at 4 p.m. The game can also be heard in the Golden Triangle on WKBB-FM 100.9, WXWX-FM 96.3 in Tupelo and both WKCU-FM 92.9 and WKCU-AM 1350 in Corinth.
The Bulldogs head to The Pavilion at Ole Miss looking to sweep the regular season series. MSU claimed a 79-51 win in Starkville on Jan. 18.
Sunday's game is big for Mississippi State from the standpoint of its standing in the SEC. MSU, 21-6 overall and 8-5 in SEC play, sits in a tie with Florida and Auburn for third place. The Bulldogs own the tiebreaker over both teams in the race for one of the top four spots in next month's SEC Tournament.
Vic Schaefer's squad has won four-straight games against the Rebels and 10 of the last 12. State has claimed three of the last five meetings in Oxford, including a thrilling 64-62 win last season on a Morgan William jumper with four seconds left.
The sophomore William also came up big in this season's first meeting, leading the way with 16 points. Junior Chinwe Okorie tallied 14 points and Teaira McCowan added 10.
William looks to get back on track after being limited to four points in Thursday's 83-60 setback to No. 16 Kentucky.
The Birmingham, Alabama, native rates second on the team averaging 9.9 ppg this season. In conference play, though, William is scoring at a 10.8 clip.
William's classmate, Victoria Vivians, continues to pace the Bulldog scoring with a 16.6 average that is third in the conference.
Vivians, who was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 along with the midseason watch lists for the Naismith and Ann Meyers Drysdale awards, is sixth in the league with a 14.9 average in conference play.
Junior Breanna Richardson had a stellar showing against Kentucky on Thursday, notching her best SEC scoring effort of the season with 13 points. The Conyers, Georgia, native has enjoyed success in her career against Ole Miss, averaging 10.4 ppg.
Freshman Teaira McCowan led MSU with nine rebounds Thursday, boosting her team-best season average to 6.5 rebounds per game, the best mark by a freshman in the league.
Sunday's game features two of the nation's top teams at forcing turnovers. State leads the league with a +7.5 turnover margin, rating just ahead of Ole Miss.
The Bulldogs rate third in the league and 10th in the nation forcing 21.7 turnovers per game, while the Rebels are second in the league and fourth in the country forcing 22.9 turnovers per game.
Shandricka Sessom paces the Rebels with 15.8 ppg after scoring 21 points in a 57-51 loss at Tennessee on Thursday.
That loss dropped Ole Miss to 10-16 overall and 2-11 in league play.
