Coming off a disappointing overtime loss to its bitter in-state rival, the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team jumped back into the win column as it took down the Missouri Tigers 69-62 Sunday, snapping its three-game losing streak.
Although the Lady Bulldogs got the win, it was not pretty, especially in the first half. The team went into the locker room with a five-point deficit, but things quickly changed when they came out to begin the second half. 
The team came out clicking on all cylinders as it opened the second half with a 14-2 run. Head Coach Vic Schaefer said those are the kind of scoring runs he is accustomed to his team having.
“I’m used to coaches having to call timeouts, kids jumping into passing lanes stealing the ball and going for a lay-up. That’s what I’m working for. That’s the kind of basketball I want us to play,” Schaefer said.
The team played a hard-nosed gritty style of play, upping the ante on defense. The Lady Bulldogs forced 20 turnovers and drew seven charges — five coming from freshman Dominique Dillingham. 
Along with those five charges, Dillingham also had a career day by scoring 21 points to lead the team. Dillingham said her success came from trusting in herself.
“Just being confident and having the confidence to shoot the ball and being open since they were daring us to shoot,” she said.
The Lady Bulldogs battled and fought hard all game long. Schaefer said toughness is the one thing that all of his players have inside of them, and it showed in Sunday’s victory.
“I thought we showed toughness tonight in not just the way we’re playing, but how were responding to certain situations,” he said. “I want to be about making other teams feel uncomfortable. That’s what I want us to embrace as a team.”
Throughout the last couple of games, Schaefer often used a phrase “they’re growing up in front of my eyes” to describe his team’s maturity. That maturity was on display Sunday, as the team was able to stay poised and not get rattled down in the crucial stretches of the game. 
Sophomore guard Savannah Carter said she hopes the team can ride this momentum wave and carry the winning success over into its upcoming games.
“I believe in us,” Carter said. “It’s a running spark for us. Hopefully, we’ll keep going from this point on and play as hard as we did today.”
The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Baton Rouge to take on the No. 15 LSU Tigers before returning home Feb. 2 to host the University of Georgia. Schaefer acknowledged the fact that going down to Baton Rouge is going to be a tough place to play, but he still has complete confidence in his team.
“I don’t care who we got next week — my concern is that we get better as a team,” he said.  “We’re becoming a better team, and we’re getting better week by week. I just want us to see us go down there and compete. That’s all I care about.”