FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 13 Mississippi State women’s basketball team made a statement in its quest to return to the nation’s top 10.
Fresh off an overtime home victory against No. 19 Tennessee, the first in program history, MSU went on the road Sunday afternoon to earn a 65-55 victory against Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference game at Bud Walton Arena.
Victoria Vivians had a game-high 17 points to help MSU improve to 19-4 and 6-3 in the SEC. Thanks to Florida’s upset victory against Kentucky, MSU and Florida remain tied for third in the league with seven league games remaining.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to get out of here with a win,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “Three top-25 teams had come in here and lost and another had to go to overtime. We feel fortunate to win by 10. I don’t think either team would say they played great.
“We had 21 turnovers. However, we were 21 of 24 at the line. We have done that well all year. We beat a good basketball team. We beat a team that has played well since they left our place. I thought we defended well. We held them to 55 again. That has been the magic number. Proud at how we competed today. After two big games (South Carolina and Tennessee), we were worried about a letdown.”
MSU completed a season sweep of Arkansas for the first time since 2007, and won for the fifth time on the Arkansas campus. The Bulldogs held the Razorbacks to 55 points in each victory, the second and third lowest point totals for the Razorbacks in a league game this season.
Dominique Dillingham and Morgan William added 11 points, while Breanna Richardson had 10.
In the third quarter, Ketara Chapel scored a basket, two of six points in the quarter for her, and Vivians followed with a 3-pointer to make it 32-18. A layup by Chapel ran the lead to a game-best 36-20 advantage.
The Razorbacks closed within 10 before the Bulldogs scored six-straight points for a 44-28 lead with 1:35 left in the third quarter.
Arkansas cut the deficit to 54-45, but Dillingham hit a 3-pointer and made a steal that erased the Razorbacks’ momentum.
“We started the game and started the third quarter punching first,” Schaefer said. “We have talked about that all year. Practice had not been great. We had every right to have a letdown after two emotional games, but we told the kids before the game we didn’t want to see any signs of a letdown.”
MSU was 21 of 48 from the field (43.8 percent), 2 of 7 from 3-point range (28.6), and 21 of 24 from the free-throw line (87.5). Arkansas was 19 of 63 from the field (30.2), 3 of 11 from 3-point range (27.3), and 14 of 19 from the free-throw line (73.7).
MSU held a 38-33 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 11 assists and 21 turnovers, while the Razorbacks had eight assists and 16 turnovers.
Jessica Jackson and Jordan Danberry led Arkansas (9-13, 4-5) with 12 points.
MSU will play at 8 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network) at LSU. It will play host to No. 22 Missouri at 2 p.m. Sunday.
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