Call it skill. Call it luck. The one thing you can not deny is the fact that the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs have been on fire from behind the arc all season.
Coming into the last night’s contest against the University of Kentucky, the Lady Dawgs were ranked second in the SEC in three-point field goals made with an average of 6.5 per game. Last night’s game would prove to be no different in the Bullies 72-59 victory.
Although the scoring would open with consecutive baskets by Tan White, State’s perimeter game would prove to be the deciding factor. Following White’s opening points; State would convert on three straight three-pointers from three different players.
Trying to match State’s best, UK seemed to rally from every deficit in the early moments of the ball game.
MSU proved to be too much as they took a self-satisfying 14 point lead at the half, thanks to White’s buzzer beating three-point shot from just inside the half court line.
“It was like 8 seconds left, and the coaches were saying go, go, go. I just threw it up there and it went in,” White said.
The second half would prove to be the same story, just new stats. The Lady Bulldog three-point field goal percentage would prove to be just as damaging as it was in the first half. MSU shot a blistering 61.1 percent from behind the arc in the second half.
“You want players to take green light shots, and when we can put people in that position it always helps. Hopefully we’ll gain confidence off this,” Coach Fanning said.
If you couple State’s three-point percentage, White’s 29 points, and the fact that State never trailed; you end up with a seemingly good performance by MSU.
The Lady Wildcats came in almost equally matched in records and confident from key SEC victories, but State would prove to be too much to handle.
“They were a very good rebounding team coming in. We knew they’d be hot coming into tonight coming off victories over Georgia and Ole Miss,” Fanning said. “I think our team really played well and stepped up and got the job done tonight.”
After State’s 72 – 59 victory, the Lady Bulldogs will get ready for the University of Georgia. That game will tip-off Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m at Humphrey Coliseum.