The Mississippi State women’s basketball team had a special Valentine’s Day message for the Mississippi Lady Rebels – “Be mine.”
And so the Lady Bulldogs owned their in-state rivals up and down the court all night, handily defeating the Lady Rebels, 73-54.
MSU won the opening tip, which fell right into sophomore guard Diamber Johnson’s hands en route to the basket for an easy layup, and they never looked back, as Ole Miss would not be able to catch up.
The Lady Bulldogs were led by senior guard Armelie Lumanu, who posted 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Lumanu also shot 7 for 8 from the line, which proved crucial in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Junior guard Mary Kathryn Govero also got into the action, putting up 15 points and three baskets from beyond the arc. Senior forward Tysheka Grimes continued her return after a long absence by adding 14 points and five rebounds over 31 minutes.
Mississippi State held Ole Miss in check primarily with tight defense, limiting the SEC’s leading scorer Bianca Thomas to 17 points – four below her 21-point average. However, guards Kayla Melson and Elizabeth Robertson picked up the slack with 14 and 11 points respectively, to keep Ole Miss in the game. The Lady Rebels were able to pull to within 10 points with 2:45 remaining, but frustration and poor shot selection set in as the Lady Bulldogs put a halt to the run.
Although MSU hit only two field goals in the final nine minutes, they went to the foul line 14 times, missing only once, and running the lead back up to 19 by the final buzzer.
However the Lady Bulldogs had to play without the SEC’s No. 2 scorer, senior guard Alexis Rack. Rack injured her right foot against South Carolina on Thursday, the same type of injury that sidelined Grimes for the first ten games in SEC play. But MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said the injury – plantar fasciitis – was not as severe as with Grimes, and hoped to have Rack back by the Auburn game on Sunday.
“She injured it in the game on Thursday and played on it,” she said. “And I knew Friday it would be tender, and we held her back in practice. We thought she was going to play today until shootarounds before the game, and we decided to keep her out. We’re blessed to have Thursday off because of Alexis’ injury which will give her time to rest, come back and help us finish strong.”
Ole Miss head coach Renee Ladner said she had no idea MSU would take the court without Rack.
“We found out at tipoff,” she said. “Anytime you lose your best player, you’re not sure how your team will react and they responded extremely well. They were the better team today.”
Govero said that the key for MSU was to not let Ole Miss dictate the tempo of the game.
“The difference in today’s game was our aggressive play from the start,” she said. “We didn’t wait to see what Ole Miss was going to do and then respond. Playing without Alexis shows what we’re really capable of. Everybody stepped up and we’ll be ready if Alexis doesn’t play again.”
On Thursday, MSU played spoiler at South Carolina, coming from behind to take a 46-39 lead on a 13-0 run with five minutes remaining. USC had an opportunity to tie with 29 seconds remaining on a jumper plus a foul, but guard Valerie Nainima missed the crucial free throw. They had one final chance to tie with three seconds left after a missed free throw by MSU’s Alexis Rack, but a shot at the buzzer failed to sink and the Lady Bulldogs brought home the road win, 55-53.
MSU is now in sole possession of third place in the SEC, with a 17-9 overall record, 8-5 in the conference. The Lady Bulldogs will play their final home game of the season against Auburn on Sunday, before closing out on the road against Alabama and LSU.