Lady Bulldogs Look To Rebound Thursday At Home Against Vanderbilt
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State will look to rebound Thursday at home when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores at the Humphrey Coliseum. The Lady Bulldogs and Vanderbilt will tip at 7 p.m. Thursday's game can be heard on WFCA 107.9 as Bart Gregory calls the action.
Mississippi State has been stellar the last three games on the defensive end of the floor, allowing an average of just 49.3 points a game respectively. The Lady Bulldogs are fifth in the league in field goal percentage defense as opponents are shooting just 37.1 percent from the field. Offensively, State is shooting 37.2 percent from the field.
Senior Mary Kathryn Govero is leading the scoring charge, averaging 11.9 points a game. Junior Diamber Johnson is scoring 11.8 points a contest. Junior Ashley Brown is pacing State in rebounds with 8.5 a game which is fifth-best in the SEC and 94th nationally. Brown is now averaging 6.3 points a game.
Johnson led Mississippi State in the last outing against South Carolina, scoring 21. The Pontotoc, Miss.,-native was 8-18 from the floor including 3-4 shooting from behind the arc. Johnson added four rebounds, had five assists, a block and a steal in 39 minutes.
Vanderbilt, who enters Thursday's game tied for third in the Southeastern Conference standings, had a four-game win streak snapped this past Sunday against fourth-ranked Tennessee. At 17-8, 8-4 in the SEC, VU had home wins over Ole Miss and LSU before winning on the road at Florida and at Georgia.
The Commodores have five players averaging double figures including four averaging more than 12 points a game. Hannah Tuomi is pacing VU averaging 12.7 points followed by senior Jence Rhoads who is scoring 12.6 a game. Jasmine Lister is scoring 12.4 a game while Stephanie Holzer is averaging 12.0 points a contest. Vanderbilt leads the league in free throw percentage and assists and is second in field goal percentage.
Mississippi State and Vanderbilt have met 44 times dating back to 1977. State trails in the series 30-14 but hold a 10-90 advantage over the Commodores in Starkville. Mississippi State has won three of the last four meetings in the series after defeating VU both times last season.
Vanderbilt won the previous meeting this year by a score of 65-44 in Nashville.