Led by junior guard Alexis Rack’s 21 points, the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs basketball team defeated the Ole Miss Lady Rebels 66-50 Thursday at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford.
The Lady Bulldogs took the lead in the second minute of the game and never looked back. Rack’s layup with 11:12 left in the first half gave the Lady Bulldogs a double-digit margin that the Lady Rebels never broke. The Lady Bulldogs led 32-17 at the half and led by more than 20 points for much of the second half before a late Lady Rebel run closed the gap to 16.
“Definitely a great team win for us,” MSU head coach Sharon Fanning said. “I thought early on we established defensive pressure and I felt like it was really a team win.”
Senior forward Robin Porter scored eight points and brought down 14 rebounds. Junior forward Chanel Mokango added nine points and six rebounds, while junior guard Tysheka Grimes scored eight points and six rebounds. Sophomore Mary Kathryn Govero added 10 points off the bench.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs outrebounded the Lady Rebels 41-31, including 20 offensive rebounds.
Ole Miss head coach Renee Ladner praised the Lady Bulldogs’ play.
“I thought they were outstanding. They really weren’t weak in any aspect of the game,” she said. “I thought we were not in the attack mode at all. The biggest thing they did was that they allowed us only one shot. Then they took the board and went the other way.”
The Lady Rebels, who dropped to 15-10 (4-6 SEC) were led by senior center Shawn Goff’s 17 points. Junior guard Bianca Thomas scored 13 points, while junior guard Shantell Black scored 11 points.
“I thought [Mississippi State] came in with a sense of urgency. I thought they took it from the tip and I thought we never fought back,” Ladner said. “I was very disappointed with our effort tonight.”
The win was only the seventh the Lady Bulldogs have ever had in Tad Smith Coliseum. It was the second time the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Rebels after a 69-64 victory in Starkville in January.
Sunday, senior guard DeWanna Bonner led the No. 4 Auburn Lady Tigers to a close 53-58 victory over the Lady Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs led by as much as seven early in the game, until Bonner’s free throw with 6:53 to go in the first half game the Lady Tigers a 19-18 lead. Auburn led 35-29 at the half, and Porter’s jumper with 10:07 to go in the second put the Lady Bulldogs on top at 44-43. The game seesawed back and forth from there, with Rack missing a tying three-pointer with 11 seconds to go.
“I was so proud of how we got back ahead. There was a look in our eyes that we knew how to win. I think we could have finished better on some shots and passes,” Fanning said. “We have to learn to put it away and finish it right there.”
Rack led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points and six assists. Porter scored 13 points and brought down 13 rebounds, while junior guard Armelie Lumanu led the team with 10 rebounds and also scored six points.
“It was a real tough loss. We played really hard and gave it our all, but we just missed some key shots toward the end, especially some layups,” Porter said. “We played with a lot of hustle and intensity but we just made some key mistakes at the end of the game.”
The Lady Bulldogs played tough defense, holding the Lady Tigers, who came into the game the third-best shooting team in the nation, to 42.9 percent from the field and outrebounded them 39-33.
Auburn head coach Neil Fortner praised MSU’s play defensively.
“I think that Mississippi State might be the best defensive team we have played all year,” she said. “That was some tremendous, agressive, physical defense. It took us out of the things that we typically like to do offensively.”
Bonner, the preseason SEC Player of the Year, led the Lady Tigers with 25 points and 10 rebounds for her 38th career double-double. Bonner agreed the Lady Bulldogs were the toughest man defense she has faced this season.
In addition, senior guards Whitney Boddie and Sherell Hobbs scored 18 and 13 points, respectively.
With the win, the Lady Tigers improved to 25-1 (10-1 SEC) on the year. They have a one game lead on Vanderbilt for the SEC title with three games to go.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 19-7 (6-5 SEC) with the loss. They are currently sixth in the conference standings.
The Lady Bulldogs will not play again until next Sunday, when they face the No. 15 Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. The Lady Volunteers are currently 18-6 (7-3 SEC) and fourth in the SEC standings.
“We just have to have the same intensity and energy and build off of that. We have a week off so we have a lot of time to prepare for [Tennessee],” Porter said. “We just have to make sure we keep our energy level up during the week.”