The Mississippi State women’s basketball team tipped off the season with a 71-55 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Friday at Humphrey Coliseum.With that win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 32-2 season-openers at home and still remain undefeated (13-0) in home-openers in head coach Sharon Fanning’s tenure.
The Lady Bulldogs overcame some shooting woes in the first half in order to gain a 26-20 lead over the Lady Lions before halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs shot 32 percent from the field and missed all nine of their attempts from three-point range in the first half. However, the Lady Bulldogs defense held strong in the first half, forcing 18 turnovers, seven of which were steals.
Mississippi State was able to score 13 points off Lady Lion miscues in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, the Lady Bulldogs’ offense began to catch up to the success of their defense, shooting 50 percent from the field and getting rid of the misses from behind the arc with three 3-point buckets.
Mississippi State’s defense continued to apply pressure to Southeastern Louisiana with seven more steals in the second half. Sophomore forward Bethany Washington led the team with five, while five other Lady Bulldogs recorded at least one steal.
Mississippi State was also able to out-rebound the Lady Lions 42-33 with Jackson having a team-high eight. Jackson was also the game’s leading scorer, holding a total of 19 points and only two rebounds shy of her fourth career double-double.
Mississippi State picked up its second win of the season on Sunday, defeating Centenary by a 76-57 score.
The matchup with the Lady Cyclones was the first between the schools.
The victory gave the Lady Bulldogs their seventh-straight regular season non-conference victory dating back to last season.
Sophomore guard Alexis Rack led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring, grabbing 14 points with 11 of those being in the second half.
Freshman forward Mary Kathryn Govero grabbed her first double-figure scoring game with 11 points. Washington also had another double-digit scoring showing with ten points.
Sophomore guard Tysheka Grimes said the team held strong throughout the game.
“We came out and executed,” sophomore guard Tysheka Grimes said. “We kept up the intensity, and of course we could have played better, but over all it was good.”
Jackson also said there were several improvements she felt needed to be made.
“We have got to learn how to play hard for the full 40 minutes, not in spurts,” Jackson said. “Although we did improve, we are running better than we have been, so we got better. It’s a win, so we will take it.”
Fanning said she was pleased to open the season with back-to-back wins, but she has some concerns that she feels need to be worked on before their next game.
“We got those wins, and that’s great,” Fanning said. “I am still concerned with focus. The girls have the tendency to lose focus when they have a good lead in the game, and they have got to learn to stay focused.”
The Lady Bulldogs will travel to Belmont Thursday looking for their third-straight win to start the season for the first time since the 2001-2002 campaign.
Tipoff for the Lady Bulldogs and the Lady Lions from the Curb Event Center in Nashville is set for 7 p.m.