STARKVILLE — Wooden Award candidate Victoria Vivians, Chinwe Okorie and Teaira McCowan all scored double figures to lead the eighth-ranked Mississippi State women’s basketball team to a 92-34 win Friday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
Vivians and McCowan led Vic Schaefer’s squad with 20 points each, while Okorie collected a career-high 15 on 7 of 8 shooting as Mississippi State improved to 4-0 on the season.
McCowan claimed her third-straight double-double as she added 11 rebounds.
“I was really proud of how we played. I thought we shared the ball and made extra passes. We made shots when we were given the opportunity. I thought our inside game was outstanding again,” Schaefer said. “Our guards did a nice job of getting the ball inside, and our point guard play was really good. We had 10 turnovers, but I’ll take that all year.
“(Norfolk State) played a lot of zone, but I thought we were patient. Norfolk State is a lot better than they played tonight. I thought our press was very effective and wore them out a little bit. That’s the same team that had 27 offensive rebounds against Virginia. They’re very capable of beating you on the boards. I’m really pleased with how hard we played. I thought our size was a factor again.”
The win was the Bulldogs’ ninth-straight at home and 24 in their last 26 home games going back to 2013-14.
MSU never trailed in the contest and took control with a 24-12 opening quarter of play thanks to six points from Chinwe Okorie.
Mississippi State broke the game open with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 20-6 advantage. Okorie had four points in the run, and Kayla Nevitt and Blair Schaefer added back-to-back 3-pointers.
MSU capped the opening quarter with a tip-in at the buzzer by McCowan.
The Bulldogs opened up a 51-21 halftime lead thanks to a 27-9 second quarter. Vivians scored nine of her 12 first-half points in the period. The Bulldogs shot 45 percent from the field while holding the Spartans (0-5) to just 2 of 10 (20 percent) for the quarter.
Vivians turned in the 10th 20-plus point game of her career, including the second this season. The Carthage, Miss., native finished the night 8 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
“I felt comfortable last year shooting,” Vivians said. “I think I am taking better shots, being more patient with my shot and not just jacking it up most of the time.”
MSU will play host to Savannah State at 2 p.m. today.
n Alabama 67, Utah Valley 60: At Reno, Nevada, Junior Breanna Hayden had a career-high 20 points to help the Crimson Tide (6-0) win the 2015 Nugget Classic at the Lawlor Events Center on the campus of the University of Nevada.
With the win, the Crimson Tide moves to 6-0 for the first time since the 2002 season.
Sophomores Meoshonti Knight and Karyla Middlebrook finished with 16 and 12, respectively. Sophomore Hannah Cook had 10 rebounds, and senior Nikki Hegstetter tied a career-high with four blocked shots.
n On Friday, Cook recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead Alabama to a 64-46 victory against Middle Tennessee.
“I thought it was a great effort, and we got a lot of help from our bench,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. “There were a lot of different points in the game where we had some folks come in and do some great things.”
Hegstetter had 10 points and six rebounds. Knight led the Crimson Tide with five assists with five. She had a team-high three steals.
Alabama shot 37.3 percent from the field (19 of 51), including 47.8 percent (11 of 23) in the second half. Middle Tennessee shot 16.9 percent (11 of 65) from the field.
“Both teams were really struggling (early), but I thought we were able to persevere and show a lot of toughness,” Curry said. “We stayed really positive with them. It wasn’t a lack of effort. We just had to get our juices flowing as I say, but it was a great job the second quarter. To come out the second half and set the tone the way we did made me really proud for our kids.”
n Ole Miss 72, Stony Brook 57: At Stony Brook, New York, Shandricka Sessom ran her double-figure scoring streak to five straight with a team-best 16 points Friday to help the Rebels improve to 2-3.
A’Queen Hayes had her second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We’re learning,” Ole Miss coahc Matt Insell said. “We have a very talented team that is going to do great things this season, but we have to learn each other both on the court and more importantly off the court. This trip has been good for that. We faced a lot of adversity, a lot of foul trouble. They kept battling and kept pushing. They made big shots down the stretch. After she missed a free throw, she stepped back up and made five in a row. I’m just really proud of each of my kids played today.”
Oxford native Erika Sisk added 11 points, while Kelsey Briggs had nine points off the bench.
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