The Mississippi State women’s basketball team rode a two-game winning streak into Sunday’s game against South Carolina but could not continue the streak as it fell to the Gamecocks 60-53. State controlled most of the game, but the girls could not hang on down the stretch to pull out the win.
State’s previous two wins came against Auburn and Ole Miss. Last Sunday, the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 57-45. Porsha Porter finished with 21 points going 5-6 from three-point land.
On Thursday night, the hot hand belonged to Mary Kathryn Govero who finished 4-5 from three and totaled 20 points as the Bulldogs took over Oxford. As a team, the Bulldogs finished 10-20 from three-point range, beating the Rebels 59-43.
The Bulldogs started out Sunday afternoon looking like it would record their third straight win. State was leading 23-19 at halftime, and the first half belonged to Diamber Johnson who had 12 points in the half to go along with three assists.
However, the Bulldogs saw an eight-point lead quickly turn into an eight-point deficit late in the second half. Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis noticed some key areas where her team let down in the second half.
“Our players are finding out that games in our league are going to come down to several possessions,” Fanning-Otis said. “You have to block out on the free throw line; you can’t give them extra shots. You have to take care of the basketball; you can’t have unforced turnovers.”
State continued the outstanding defensive play in the first half, allowing South Carolina to score just 19 points on 27 percent shooting. Unfortunately, the Gamecocks clawed back and scored 41 second half points and shot 55 percent.
Fanning-Otis said her team cannot let this kind of change happen, and she credited part of this to the Gamecocks out-rebounding the Bulldogs 38-32 and 14-10 on the offensive boards.
South Carolina came off of big wins against Kentucky and Georgia and used depth and clutch three-point shooting to take over the game against the Bulldogs.
State also missed several opportunities to take charges against a South Carolina team that thrives on driving the ball to the basket. But Fanning-Otis said this would be another learning opportunity for her team, and she is hoping it improves from this loss.
“We will learn from this, and it will help us win another ball game; we’re to that point with our basketball team where we are improving, getting tougher, understanding each other better and gaining confidence with each other,” Fanning-Otis said. “You expect to win every game you play, but sometimes you’re not there to put yourself in a position to win them; we can do that now with this basketball team, and that’s what we have to expect.”
Johnson, who spent the afternoon being harassed by Gamecock guards, still led the team with 21 points and five assists. Ashley Brown added 10 points and six rebounds, five of which were offensive.
Johnson said she thought the girls matched South Carolina’s intensity throughout the game, and Brown said she was encouraged by the energy the girls brought to the game.
“I feel like we’re getting a lot better as a team, and we just need to bring more and more energy every day and don’t relax,” Brown said. “The more energy we bring, the better we’ll be as a team.”
The loss dropped MSU to 2-10 in conference play, but the team full of new faces is on the rise as it begins to show signs of much needed chemistry on the court.
Fanning-Otis has been pleased with the progress made by the girls so far this season.
“We want to finish this month better and better every game we play,” Fanning-Otis said. “There’s nothing about our basketball team that’s going to be individual — it’s total team.”