Following a pair of wins to begin the season, the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team took on New Orleans University of the Southland Conference Sunday.
The team improved to 3-0 on the year and did so in dominating fashion, winning 111-38. The 73-point margin of victory was the largest since the 1986 team beat Judson College 117-35. It is also the second-largest margin in school history. The 111 points was the third-highest point total in school history and most since 1993.
The Bulldogs overwhelmed the Privateers with their shooting and depth. Seven players scored in double figures in Sunday’s game, and in the three games MSU has played this season, at least five players have scored in double figures each game. For the Lady Bulldogs, it is not just one player teams have to worry about this season because multiple players are capable of contributing on the offensive end.
Although it was a total team effort, junior Kendra Grant came out and set the tone early in the game. Grant tied a career-high with 23 points and came out firing on all cylinders as she found the net for most of the game. She was 10-for-10 from the field to begin the game and ultimately finished 10-for-12. Grant did most of her damage from the perimeter. So far this season, Grant has played well in the second half of games but got off to a slow start in the first half of the first two games.
Grant said head coach Vic Schaefer challenged her to come out and play well in the first half before the game.
“I took the challenge to heart. So far this season, the second half has been my best half for some reason,” Grant said. “When he told me that at the beginning of the game I just wanted to come out and show him that I could put two halves together and get off to a strong start.”
Junior guard Savannah Carter added 10 points and said Grant’s performance sparked the entire team.
“We fed off her shooting tonight, especially the bench,” Carter said. “They were crunk over there, and the entire team was just fired up.”
Schaefer said getting off to a good start was the key to Grant’s contribution and called her performance incredible.
“She came out and was knocking down everything she looked at,” Schaefer said. “We haven’t seen her shoot it like that consistently, but we’ve seen it a little bit in practice, and I really believe she can be that good. She got us off to a great start tonight.”
Grant leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game and is efficiently shooting 54 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range. Junior center Martha Alwal posted 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in the win.
The Lady Bulldogs return to the court Thursday against Tennessee Tech at the Humphrey Coliseum at 7 p.m.
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Lady Bulldogs earn third win behind Grant’s career performance
Forrest Buck
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November 19, 2013
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