After three minutes of not scoring to start the second half, Mississippi University for Women women’s basketball coach Howard White Jr. called a timeout.
His team wasn’t in danger of losing. However, he felt they needed more urgency.
The team responded with an 8-0 run and the Owls closed out a 70-49 victory against Judson College on Tuesday night at Pohl Gymnasium.
“Consistency is what we are looking for right now,” White Jr. said. “Playing the full 40 minutes is important. We don’t need to let up. We need to keep going. Personally, I like how we responded.”
As the season hits the final three weeks, the Owls continue to impress, shoring up the loose ends before making a push at nationals.
“We have a lot of size and we try to use that to our advantage,” MUW senior forward Tenazhia Hinkson said. “Our team has success when our post players have success. Usually, we have an advantage underneath, so we have to get them going. Once we are able to do that, good things happen for our team.”
After routing Judson 66-50 earlier in the season, White Jr. was concerned about his team’s attention to detail entering the contest.
“It’s human nature to play a little differently,” White Jr. said. “We had the big win the first time, so the main thing was remaining focused. We knew if we were able to do the things that we can do, we would have a good night. The way we started was strong. Early in the game, we played with a lot of confidence. It was a good start.”
Hinkson said the team wanted to use the game as a chance to iron out its press defense.
The theory worked as the Owls forced 23 turnovers that they turned into 26 points.
The W (14-5) scored the first eight points and built a 20-5 lead after two 3-pointers from Autumn Taylor.
The Owls shot 50 percent from the field in the first quarter and bettered that mark with a 57.1-percent showing in the second quarter for a 43-27 halftime lead.
“We did a better job of sharing the basketball,” Hinkson said. “Once we got some things going close to the basket that allowed us to get better shots from 3-point range. This team has made a lot of improvements on offense.”
After the Lady Eagles closed within 10 at 43-33, White Jr. called timeout and told his team to “play much harder.”
A 12-2 run followed with the Owls getting four of Hinkson’s eight steals in the run.
Overall, The W recorded 18 steals and five blocked shots. Qiayon Bailey had three steals, while Keyahna Jones and Taylor had two blocked shots.
Hinkson had 25 points on an 8-for-11 night from the field. She also had seven rebounds. Taylor had 10 points, while Jones had 11 rebounds.
“Our confidence level is high right now,” Hinkson said. “We just have to keep going so we are playing our best when nationals start.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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