After a close loss to No. 2 Tennessee on Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs came back and defeated Florida Sunday afternoon at home with an 83-71 final score. MSU head coach Sharon Fanning said she was impressed with a change in effort in her team.
“I was very pleased with our effort, especially in the first half,” she said. “When you play against a good team, it will come back. We still want to grow and mature as a team with intensity and consistency.”
The Lady Bulldogs started out with a 20-0 lead, and sophomore guard Tysheka Grimes recorded her fifth career double-double.
“We came out with momentum, and we were going,” senior forward Imesia Jackson said. “Once you get tired of losing, you do something. This game is a big boost for us.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ defense held Florida to just 28-percent shooting from the floor and forced 16 Gator turnovers.
Depree Bowden helped Florida rebound early in the second half and pull within 19 with back-to-back baskets, although the Lady Bulldogs came back and opened out a 26-point lead with 10 minutes left.
The Lady Bulldogs were able to prevent Florida from coming back as they slowly tried to take away the lead in the last 5 minutes of the game.
Grimes led with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Robin Porter added a season-high 18, and Jackson shot 7-of-8 from the floor for 18 points.
Preparation was a key to the Lady Bulldogs grabbing their third conference victory.
“We prepared ourselves from the Tennessee game, and it made us play harder,” junior guard Robin Porter said. “It made us believe we could beat everybody.”
Fanning said she also thinks her team came together better than they had in previous games.
“Today the team chemistry was great,” she said. “We are learning each other better.”
The Lady Bulldogs will head to Oxford for a Valentine’s Day showdown with the Ole Miss Lady Rebels.
After a close 57-52 MSU win in its last meeting with Ole Miss, Fanning said the Lady Rebels will be another challenging conference opponent.
“Ole Miss scraps, rebounds very hard, and takes the ball at you,” she said. “We have to grow on the Florida game, and we have to win on the road.