The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs came from five points down at halftime Friday to defeat Southeast Louisiana Lions (1-2) 69-62.
The game went to the wire, but with the help of Tysheka Grimes’ 3-pointers and two Miayorka Johnson free throws with 1:30 left, the Lady Bulldogs (2-0) were too much for the Lions.
The Bulldogs were held to 32 percent from the field and junior forward Imesia Jackson went scoreless in the first half. Meanwhile, SLU shot 48 percent from the field.
In the first half, the Lady Lions were led in scoring by All-Southland forward Brenita Williams and Kristy Carlin.
The Lady Lions led by as many as 10 in the first half and the inability to get the ball to Jackson was one factor.
“In the first half, I struggled with my knee,” Jackson said. “I’ve been having pains here and there, and I couldn’t figure out how to get open so my teammates could give me the ball.
“When we went in at halftime, we talked about it and figured out a lot of things that we could do to improve.”
Improve they did, as the Bulldogs shot 51.7 percent from the field in the second half and saw great improvement for the whole team.
Four Lady Bulldogs finished in double figures, and sophomore guard Robin Porter recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“I think Robin did a good job getting to the goal tonight,” head coach Sharon Fanning said. “She had a couple shots go in and out for her, but she did a good job getting her own rebounds and putting missed shots back up.”
After going scoreless in the first half, Jackson finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block.
The game was tied five times, and there were 16 lead changes.
The contest proved to be very physical, with over half of the Lady Bulldog’s points coming in the paint and 21 points coming from second-chance opportunities.
Both teams got good play from their benches with 22 points coming from SLU against 21 for MSU.
“They are a nice, young, talented team,” SLU head coach Lori Davis Jones said.
“Youth and energy payout for a lot of extra hustle points, and they are going to be fine.”