The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (1-0) opened their season on Friday night with a 71-55 win over visiting Southeastern Louisiana (0-1). Behind an outstanding showing from junior forward/center Natasha Henderson, State warded off a comeback in the second half to take the win.
“I thought we did a good job of moving the basketball,” head coach Sharon Fanning said. “We were able to get the ball in the spots to make the easy shots, so that was very positive. Our composure and focus were positives of the second half.”
State opened the first half on a 6-2 offensive run before eventually going ahead by 15 midway through the first half of play.
They held SELU to zero field goals made during the half’s remaining six minutes to take a 25-point lead into the locker room at the end of the first half of regulation, 45-20.
In the second half, the Lady Lions fought valiantly but could not suffice enough power to escape a commanding MSU lead. Although SELU ended the game on a 6-0 run, the Lady Bulldogs held on to take the victory.
The season opener would not only be a night of high scoring as a team, but career highs for many players as well. Henderson finished the game with a career-high 12 points and tied three other career-high categories with six rebounds, one assist and two blocks.
Miayorka Johnson finished with a career-high 11 points. McKinney also set career highs in assists with seven and tied her career-high for blocks with three.
Sunday v. East Tennessee
The Lady Dawgs (1-1) dropped their second contest of the young season to the Lady Buccaneers of East Tennessee, 78-53. State found themselves in an 18-point halftime deficit that would only get worse and extend to 28 points in the second half of play.
“We started out I felt like with some intensity, but when you look at what they did well, they rebounded offensively, they made the extra pass and they took care of the basketball,” Fanning said. “When you play that hard and you play together and have that experience together, you win. I don’t feel that we are focused.”
Junior guard Sarah Johnson scored the first points of the contest by delivering a three-pointer with 18:32 remaining in the first period. Following a defensive time frame between both teams, ETSU tied the game at three with 16:20 left in the period. From there, the Lady Buccaneers rolled, taking the double-digit halftime lead.
Despite an effort to mount a comeback, the Lady Bulldogs only managed to cut the ETSU lead to as little as 16 at the 8:56 mark in the second half. ETSU would gradually add to its commanding lead, winning by 25 points.
“They (MSU) have to understand each game from here on out is going to get harder,” Fanning said.