The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs basketball team (4-0) cruised to an 84-55 win over the then-No. 20 Maryland Terrapins on Sunday in front of a hot crowd of over 3,000, boosting its own ranking to No. 19.
When Maryland (3-1) called a time out only 2:24 into the first half to put the brakes on an 11-2 run by MSU, it was apparent to all in attendance the Lady Dawgs were a cut above their opponents.
The only question was whether MSU could sustain the blistering pace they had set.
And sustain it they did, with a smaller, quicker lineup than the Terrapins, who field seven 6-footers, and two more players over 5’10”. But no one on the court was taller than senior Alexis Rack, the 5’7″ point guard for MSU.
Rack accounted for over half of MSU’s offense with 43 points, her career best and third all-time in MSU history. As fate would have it, LaToya Thomas, State’s record holder with 48, was introduced at courtside early in the game.
Rack was perfect from the free throw line, shooting 50 percent from outside and 66 percent overall. The only blank on her stat-line was for blocks, not surprising considering the size of her opponents.
Only one other player, junior forward Mary Kathryn Govero, was even in double digits with 12 points. Seniors Tysheka Grimes and Rima Kolanda had 8 points and 2 points respectively, while senior guard Armelie Lumanu added 5 more.
Senior forward Chanel Mokango contributed 9 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Shots fell so often for Rack that Govero said her teammates were content to just stay out of the way.
“When Alexis is shooting like that, I told her, ‘You keep doing what you’re doing,'” she said. “We’ll go rebound if you happen to miss. If you’re shooting like that, we’ll take it.”
Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said Rack was simply unstoppable.
“Obviously we had no answer for Rack tonight,” she said. “She came out and played like an All-American, one of the best in the country. Her ability to shoot and get to the rim really hurt us.”
Frese, who coached the Terps to the national title three years ago, said she was impressed by what she saw on the other side of the court.
“All the credit goes to Mississippi State. They came out hot and ready to play,” she said. “You could see in this team that they weren’t going to be rattled. They’re an exciting team to watch. I just wish we weren’t on the other end of it.”
MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said she was so focused on the court she did not know how many points Rack scored, only that she had a great game.
“The thing about Alexis’ 43, they were 3 point shots and jump shots,” she said. “They were to the rim for layups; they were drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. She had a positive assists ratio. It was a statement for her and great leadership out there.”