For the second game in a row, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team followed a commendable first half with a disappointing second half performance, as the Lady Bulldogs fell to the LSU Lady Tigers by a score of 63-41 in the Bulldogs’ annual “Think Pink” game.
MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said the team could not keep up with the Tigers in the second half.
“I think it was a tale of two halves,” Schaefer said. “I was awfully proud of the competitive nature and our execution in the first half.”
The Bulldogs shot an abysmal 6-32 (18.8 percent) from the field in the second half, including 0-9 from downtown. State was outscored 35-16 in the second half of play and could not seem to get any rhythm on the offensive side.
“First half, I thought we were very competitive, a very competitive game,” Schaefer said. “Second half, it got away from us. I don’t think we were ready to come out of the gate.”
Schaefer said, however, he certainly believed LSU deserved acclaim for its performance.
“You gotta give LSU credit. I think they are playing on a mission,” Schaefer said. “They are playing with NCAA Tournament bidding in their mind, and this is a chance for them to win back-to-back games on the road. They came in here and did a good job.”
There was one ray of hope from Sunday’s game, and that was the play of 6’3″ redshirt sophomore Carnecia Williams, who has been hindered by injuries throughout her career.
Schaefer said he was proud of Williams and fellow post player Sherise Williams.
“Their competitiveness and how hard they played and as many minutes as Carnecia played – she (Carnecia) is playing on a wheel and a half and really gutted it out,” Schaefer said. “You’re talking about somebody who is probably going to have to have surgery when the season is over to fix that kneecap.”
Carnecia Williams led the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding with 13 points and eight boards. Williams said she was happy with her performance and did not seem to think her injury affected her play during the game.
“Coach always tells us we are always going to be hurting,” Williams said. “I know what I have to do; if I want to be on the court then I’m going to have to play through it.”
A big surprise of the game was the Tiger defense on the Bulldogs’ leading scorer and rebounder, Martha Alwal. LSU held her to zero points and only one rebound in a mere 19 minutes of playing time. Alwal averages 12.5 points and 10 rebounds per game and leads the SEC with 13 double-doubles.
Schaefer hinted there may be some off-the-court issues that led him to reduce the playing time of a few key Bulldogs.
“We are teaching life lessons here within the game. For us, we are teaching a lot of different things besides X’s and O’s,” Schaefer said. “You know it’s really unfortunate to be in your 25th game of the season and you are still trying to deal with those kinds of things. You gotta practice hard, you gotta play hard and you gotta take care of your business off the court as well.”
The Bulldogs have another test coming up when they face an up-tempo Alabama squad this Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum. Schaefer said his team’s response to pressure has been an “Achilles” throughout the season.
“Rebounding and transition defense has been a problem all year. They (Alabama) are very talented, and they have tremendous talent on their roster. It will be a tremendous challenge for us,” Schaefer said. “We need to get back to doing what we we’re doing and having the chemistry that we had and enjoying playing the game.”