CANCUN, Mexico — The No. 7 Mississippi State women’s basketball team outscored No. 24 Arizona State by 10 points in the fourth quarter to rally for a 65-57 victory Thursday in an opening-round game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.
Victoria Vivians had 17 points to lead three players in double figures for MSU (4-0). Roshunda Johnson added 16 points, and Teaira McCowan had 15. McCowan scored 13 points and grabbed eight of her 14 rebounds in the fourth quarter.
“(Jazzmun Holmes and McCowan) were the difference in the fourth quarter,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “Offensively, we executed much better. We shot 50 percent in the fourth quarter. Our execution was critical.
“Teaira was dominant in the second half. She was great with offensive boards and defensive boards. She had a double-double in the second half.”
The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 points late in the first quarter, but an offensive drought to end the half meant a 29-28 deficit at halftime. MSU trailed 45-43 entering the final quarter.
“After a couple of fouls early, I knew I had to come in and help my team,” McCowan said. “When they delivered me the ball, I knew I had to finish. My job was to play good defense. When my teammates delivered me the ball, I knew I had to score. It was a tight game and we needed the points.”
MSU scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to take control.
“We had some kids really gut it out today,” Schaefer said. “We made some big shots in the fourth quarter. Once we got some turnovers and some transition going, we were in good shape. Sometimes, we don’t wear the other team down until the fourth quarter.”
Kianna Ibis (13 points) and Sabrina Haines (10) combined to score 17 points in the final 20 minutes for the Sun Devils (4-1), who came back from a 13-point deficit.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman added eight points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils.
“We were right there down the stretch to take it, but we are a young team and I did not think we had quite the killer instinct that hopefully we’ll have next time we are in this situation,” Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We got off to slow start and then settled down and went toe to toe with them for most of the game. We countered their pressure and forced more turnovers than them. We were basically even on the boards. It was a one-possession game, and I thought that their experience won out. They came out in the fourth quarter as the more aggressive team and caused some turnovers we shouldn’t have had.
“I thought we competed fantastically, and it just shows this team how good they are and how good they are going to be. We just have to be more disciplined.”
MSU held a 40-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 11 assists and 19 turnovers, while the Sun Devils had 10 assists and 18 turnovers.
MSU will take on Columbia at 10 a.m. today.
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