Wednesday was a night of career highs as the Mississippi State University Lady Bulldogs improved their record to 3-4 on the season, cruising past Savanna State University 70-55.
Sophomore Kendra Grant’s first career double-double and Carnecia Williams’ presence down low paved the way for State’s offense. Grant snatched a career-high 15 rebounds (13 offensive), and Williams put up a career-high 26 points. The sophomore forward went 10-14 from the field and 6-9 from the charity stripe.
Williams said her teammates were noticing the mismatches and continued feeding her the ball.
“Our high-low game was killing them, and it created a lot of mismatches. We just kept capitalizing,” Williams said. “I have been working on my offense, and tonight it showed. This is what I’ve been striving for.”
The Lady Dogs put the press on early, which ultimately led to 17 SSU turnovers and a few easy looks in the paint for MSU. Though they were having a little trouble of their own with turnovers, the Lady Dogs’ hustle and tough play down low made up for their turnovers.
State outscored SSU 42-24 in the paint and 18-1 on second chance points. The Lady Tigers (2-4) ended the game on 18-49 shooting with Erin Hogue taking on most of the scoring with 18 points.
Grant, who scored 16 points to go along with her 15 rebounds, said the team will continue to improve on the defensive side of the ball as the season continues.
In the seventh game of the season for the Lady Dogs, it was also very clear they are looking to take care of business on the fast break. In his first year coaching the Lady Dogs, Vic Schaefer said he was extremely proud of Williams and Grant and was particularly pleased with his team’s transition offense.
“We had seen it on tape during the week, and it was in the scouting report, so we looked to push it,” Schaefer said. “I was also very happy with the way our point guards played in the second half.”
Junior guard Katia May, who also put up a career-high with six assists said Schaefer expects consistent play from the guards and anything less will not be tolerated.
“That’s just a part of playing for Coach Schaefer. If you aren’t playing to your full potential, he will pull you and most definitely let you know what you’re doing wrong,” May said. “He doesn’t sugarcoat anything.”
The MSU Lady Dogs look to even their record at 4-4 as they head to Hattiesburg Saturday to play the Southern Mississippi Lady Eagles. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.