After beginning the season 8-4, the Lady Bulldogs’ basketball team has dropped its first six SEC battles. Mississippi State lost two close home decisions to Arkansas and Auburn, while Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky and Georgia all had their way against the Bulldogs. In her 15th year as head coach of the Bulldogs, Sharon Fanning-Otis recognized the challenge for her team this year.
“We don’t know each other as a team,” Fanning-Otis said.
Team chemistry often goes unnoticed in basketball, but with only three returning players from last year’s team, along with 11 new additions, the Lady Bulldogs are striving to increase their knowledge of each other’s style of play.
Returning for the Bulldogs are senior Mary Kathryn Govero and juniors Diamber Johnson and Danielle Rector. Govero is one of the team’s greatest offensive threats as her three-point shot is difficult to defend. Johnson, the Bulldogs’ point guard, is the leading scorer this season, averaging 11.4 points per game. She also leads the team with 62 assists on the year. Rector’s 6’3″ frame allows her to battle with the best on the inside, but she is also a threat outside as she is shooting 45 percent from 3-point land this season.
The bulk of the new Bulldogs this year are transfers. The team welcomed six transfers, including two who are now starting for the team. Juniors Ashley Brown and Porsha Porter have made their presence felt quickly this year. Both of these girls spent their first two years at Jefferson College, where they helped lead Jefferson to the NJCAA national title game last year. This season, Brown is leading the Bulldogs in rebounding, averaging 9.4 per game along with seven points per game. Porter averages 8.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while leading the team with 31 steals. These two girls hope to continue improving their game and strengthening the Bulldogs offensively and defensively.
Another key transfer is 6’5″ junior Catina Bett. As a junior in high school, Bett was ranked as one of the nation’s top 50 players by the All Star Girls Report. Her senior year, the Alabama Sports Writers Association named her the 2007 girl’s basketball 6A Player of the Year as she averaged 15.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. Bett also averaged a double-double her junior year. Following high school, Bett took her talents to the University of Kentucky, where she played two seasons before transferring to MSU. She sat out last season due to the NCAA transfer rules, but is now starting for the Bulldogs and making an impact. In the recent loss to Auburn, Bett led the team with 15 points and three blocks.
State also added four freshmen this season, including 5’2″ Katia May. In her senior year of high school, May led her team as it won the 3A State Championship, where she was named state finals MVP. Overall for the season, May averaged an outstanding 19.8 points per game. So far for the Bulldogs, May is averaging 4.4 points per game but has made her way into the starting lineup in two recent games.
The Bulldogs have shown bright spots defensively this year. State is fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting from the floor, ranking 41st nationally. Opposing teams are scoring a mere 56.5 points a game against the Bulldogs.
In last Thursday’s game at the Hump against Auburn, the Bulldogs held the Tigers to just 45 points but finished with only 41 themselves. Porter said the girls needed to keep shooting and working in the gym to get at the level they need to be.
“We have to learn how to finish close games and get the win,” Porter said. “We have to bring focus and energy; when we bring focus and energy, no one can play with us.”
On Sunday, State took on Georgia in the battle of the Bulldogs, but Georgia remained undefeated in SEC play as it ousted State 78-58. After being down 40-20 at the half, State responded with a strong second-half performance, keeping the deficit at 20 points. Govero led the Bulldogs with 17 for the game. Fanning-Otis said Georgia was not only a great team, but also very athletic.
“In these league games, we have been fighting back a lot, and you want to be able to say what a great win that was, but that is not the case,” Fanning-Otis said. “As this team continues to progress, we have to try to get ourselves into a position to win.”
The Bulldogs have two chances to get their first SEC win this week as they travel to Knoxville to take on the sixth ranked Lady Vols on Thursday night before returning home to play the Florida Gators Sunday afternoon.