STARKVILLE — The look in Diamber Johnson’s eyes said payback.
Little did the Tulane University women’s basketball team know that that gaze could get more intense even after Johnson hit her first four shots from the field and scored Mississippi State’s first 10 points.
But Johnson furrowed her brow, fixed her eyes on the basket, and attacked in one of her best efforts in a MSU uniform.
Johnson scored a season-high 28 points — two off her career-high — and Ashley Brown had 11 points and 11 rebounds in an energized performance to lead MSU to a 70-55 victory before a crowd of 633 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Johnson was 10 of 17 from the floor, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, with three assists and two steals, while Brown had her first double-double of the season (seven offensive rebounds), and fourth of her career, along with three assists and two steals to help MSU (7-1) win its fourth game in a row.
“Johnson was the game today,” Tulane coach Lisa Stockton said. “I give Mississippi State all of the credit. Johnson was phenomenal. … Every time we made a run she answered.”
Johnson had 11 points in the first 20 minutes to give MSU a 31-26 halftime lead. The Lady Bulldogs twice pushed the margin to 11 in the second half, only to have the Green Wave (6-2) battle back. A 3-pointer by Danielle Blagg answered one by Johnson and cut MSU’s lead to 47-42 with 12 minutes, 43 seconds remaining.
That’s when Johnson shifted into attack mode.
Prodded by MSU coach Sharon Fanning-Otis the past two seasons to take the ball to the basket, Johnson was fouled on a purposeful drive and then converted two free throws. She then made a steal and thought she was fouled on her drive to the hoop, but there wasn’t a whistle.
Johnson made Tulane pay on the next trip down by burying a 3-pointer to kick the lead back to double digits, 52-42, with 11:53 to go.
“The thought of that foul (that wasn’t called) made me realize I am not going to rely on them,” Johnson said. “Either I am going to make it really known (that she is fouled) or I am going to score.”
Following a span of 4:19 in which MSU went 0 of 5 from the field with three turnovers, Johnson delivered again to help MSU work itself out of trouble. Johnson found Danielle Rector for a jump shot and then hit a jump shot with 6:41 to play that extended the lead to 56-47.
From there, MSU used a 10-2 run to put the game away.
“If (Johnson) continues to get better with (taking the ball to the basket), we’re going to become a good basketball team,” Fanning-Otis said. “I kid with them and say, ‘You’re vice chancellor in charge of whatever it is, and (Porsha) Porter has that defensive thing and Diamber has that offensive thing.
“I think her toughness, her demeanor, and how she communicates with her teammates is important, not only the scoring.”
Porter (14 points, eight rebounds) and Kendra Grant (11 points) joined Johnson and Brown in double figures. Porter and Grant each made three 3-pointers as the Lady Bulldogs had a season-best nine makes from long range.
But Stockton credited Johnson, a senior point guard, who entered the game leading MSU in scoring (17 points per game) despite shooting 34.5 percent from the field. Her 28-point performance marked the second straight game she eclipsed the 20-point mark. The last Lady Bulldog to do that was Porter against the University of Alabama and Auburn University a year ago. Stockton said Johnson was the trigger that ignited the Lady Bulldogs.
“We had to change our defenses to try to go on her, and I think that freed a lot of people up,” said Stockton, whose team defeated LSU in overtime earlier in the year and beat Louisiana Tech on Friday. “I think they have a nice combination of some wings that can score and some posts that can rebound.”
Stockton also praised MSU for making a season-high 9 of 24 3-pointers. MSU entered the game with 25 treys this season, but its best 3-point trifecta to date helped it avenge a 62-42 loss at Tulane in the second game of the 2010-11 season. Johnson was 6 of 16 from the field in that game for a team-high 14 points. Tulane limited Mary Kathryn Govero to 2-of-13 shooting in its victory.
Brown also had a game to forget against Tulane last season. She had eight points and 10 rebounds but played only 20 minutes due to foul problems. She agreed with Johnson that the victory Sunday was “payback” that MSU hopes to continue in its next game at 2 p.m. Sunday at Louisiana Tech. The Lady Techsters beat the Lady Bulldogs 69-61 on Dec. 1, 2010, in Starkville.
“I think Brown made the statement, and she has been giving us a tremendous amount of energy coming off the bench,” Fanning-Otis said. “That is a statement. Getting an and-one is a statement.”
Fanning-Otis was referring to a sequence in the final three and a half minutes. With MSU leading 61-49, Brown rebounded a miss by Johnson and missed a shot. Instead of giving up on the play, Brown ripped the ball from above the head of 6-foot-3 center Brett Benzio, who had rebounded her miss, and scored on a layup and was fouled. Her hustle play sent a charge through the MSU bench before she converted the three-point play.
“It’s payback,” Brown said. “I just went out there and played hard. I could have had more rebounds, but you win some and lose some. We had to make a statement today. I think we played well as a team. We have a little more improving to do, but overall we did good.”
If Johnson continues to play with a look in her eye and Brown brings up-tempo play, there’s no telling how many more teams MSU will be able to pay back this season.
“I was just completely focused and I was ready to get this big one,” Johnson said. “I was thinking about the game they played versus LSU and … what this game could mean for us to go out and make the statement we could have. This could have been an easy 25- to 30-point game. At the end, we let loose a little bit. I was just trying to go out and make a statement for our team so we could have that confidence to finish off strong and take it into SEC play.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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