COLUMBIA, Mo. — When the Mississippi State women’s basketball team didn’t have answers on offense, it turned its game up on defense.
On a frigid shooting afternoon for both teams, No. 17 MSU found its offensive spark at the right time to earn a 53-47 victory against Missouri in its first Southeastern Conference road game of the season at the Mizzou Arena.
“Our defense caused some problems for them there late,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “We turned them over and got some transition layups. We did a good job getting to the line in the second half, shooting 30 free throws in the second half after we shot two in the first half. That is on us for not being aggressive enough. It was an ugly win, but we will take a bunch more of them just like it.”
MSU improved to 17-0 and 2-0 in the SEC for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The Bulldogs have won all four series meetings against the Tigers.
The Bulldogs have held nine opponents to 50 or fewer points in a game this season.
“Getting the first conference road win is an accomplishment because we didn’t play well,” MSU sophomore forward Breanna Richardson said. “In the second half, we had turn up the intensity on defense and be more aggressive. It started with me. I tried to bring the juice and get my teammates involved.”
Defense triggered MSU’s rally from a nine-point deficit. A steal by Chinwe Okorie led to a layup by Breanna Richardson. Seconds later, a steal by Dominique Dillingham led to another layup by Richardson. The Bulldogs pulled within one on a 3-pointer by Jerica James and took the lead for good at 37-36 on a layup by Vivians with 7 minutes, 10 seconds to go. The Bulldogs scored 12-straight points to take a 44-36 lead with 3:46 left. Another basket by Richardson capped the run.
Missouri closed within 50-47 with 39 seconds left. The Bulldogs closed the game with Vivians, James and Dillingham splitting a pair of free throws to create the final margin.
“For whatever reason, offensively we set the game back 20 years,” Schaefer said. “They dared us to shoot it. We couldn’t get the ball inside. We won not playing our best. We won because we grinded it out defensively on every possession.
“We held a great shooting team to 29 percent from the field on their home floor. There are a lot of positives we can take from this game, but we need to finish games better.”
Dillingham hit a 3-pointer as part of a 7-0 run in the final 3:23 of the first half to help MSU take a 21-19 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Bulldogs managed only one field goal over the first 10 minutes.
Missouri (10-5, 0-2) grabbed the game’s largest lead at 34-25 after a 3-pointer by Morgan Eye with 10:30 remaining.
MSU was 16 of 55 from the field (29.1 percent), 5 of 17 from 3-point range (29.4), and 16 of 32 from the free-throw line (50). Missouri was 15 of 54 from the field (27.8), 6 of 20 from 3-point range (30), and 11 of 16 from the free-throw line (68.8).
Missouri held at 49-43 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had five assists and 22 turnovers, while the Tigers had 10 assists and 27 turnovers.
James paced the Bulldogs with a career-high 17 points on a 4-of-8 night from the field (2 of 4 from 3-point range) and a 7-of 11-night from the free-throw line. Richardson added nine rebounds. Okorie had three of the Bulldogs’ 12 steals. MSU scored 25 points off Missouri turnovers.
Maddie Stock led Missouri with 16 points, while Eye had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
MSU will play host to Arkansas at 8 p.m. Thursday (Fox Sports Net South) at Humphrey Coliseum.
Prior to the game, fans can meet the team 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the next Hail State Hoops luncheon at Mize Pavilion. The cost is $12 per person.
Fans can RSVP by calling 662-325-0198 or by emailing at [email protected].
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