HONOLULU — The No. 7 Mississippi State women’s basketball team scored 50 second-half points to post an 88-51 victory against San Jose State on Saturday on the second day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown at the Stan Sheriff Center.
MSU improved to 6-0 by shooting 45.2 percent from the field. The win allowed several young players to see playing time. All 13 players scored.
Freshman Jacaira “Iggy” Allen led the way with a career-high 14 points, while Breanna Richardson added 10. Teaira McCowan grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, while Chinwe Okorie had nine.
“We finished the first half off well,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “In the second half, backup point guard Jazzmun Holmes was awesome. She really came in and set the tone. I really liked my bench tonight. I thought we played really well. Our athleticism and quickness dominated the game defensively.”
Holmes had eight assists and two steals in 21 minutes.
The win put the Bulldogs at 2-0 for the tournament and set them up to claim the Rainbow Wahine Showdown title with a victory against host Hawaii at 8:30 tonight.
MSU scored the first five points and built a 17-5 advantage. A basket in the closing seconds of the first quarter brought the Spartans within 21-12.
San Jose State followed with a 3-pointer to pull within six. From there, a basket by Dominique Dillingham pushed the lead back to 25-15. The Bulldogs ended the half with a 12-2 run to take a 38-22 lead.
In the second half, the Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field (22 of 44). Holmes capped a 17-9 run with a putback that pushed the advantage to 55-31. A 21-11 run started by a 3-pointer from Blair Schaefer sealed the deal in the fourth quarter.
“We forced 24 turnovers,” Schaefer said. “That is who we are and that is what we do. We try to disrupt you. In the second half, we played a whole lot better. In the first half, they took our inside game away. In the second half, we really stepped up and everybody on the team contributed.”
MSU was 38 of 84 from the field (45.2 percent), 6 of 16 from 3-point range (37.5), and 6 of 13 from the free-throw line (46.2). The Spartans were 20 of 54 from the field (37), 4 of 16 from 3-point range (25), and 7 of 11 from the free-throw line (63.6).
MSU held a 58-28 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 19 assists and 13 turnovers, while the Spartans had six assists and 24 turnovers.
Jasmine Smith led San Jose State (2-4) with 11 points.
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