LaToya Thomas and Tan White combined for 44 points in the Lady Bulldogs’ 97-51 thrashing of Houston Friday night in the Hump. Thomas was an outstanding 11 of 15 from field goal range and had a team-leading 15 rebounds, while White went six of 11 and captured seven rebounds. Mississippi State got off to a demanding 21-3 lead with only five minutes run off the first-half clock, and the Lady Bulldogs never surrendered their lead to the Jaguars. Houston had trouble all night against the Lady Bulldog defense that had 11 total steals.
Jessica Carter led State in 3-pointers, knocking down four of seven and totaling a team second best in overall points with 15.
State went on a nine-point run to close the first half with a 47-21 lead.
The Jaguars’ leading scorer was Andrea Jackson, who totaled 10 in the first half and finished with 16. Trailing her was LaCharlotte Smith, who had 13 points on the night and led in rebounds with five.
The Bulldog defense played an impressive game by only allowing Houston to knock down 32 percent of their field goals, but head coach Sharon Fanning was not pleased with the second half performance.
“They shot 39 percent in the second half, and so defensively, I felt like if they are shooting over 22 or 25 percent then we’re not doing a good job,” Fanning said.
The Bulldogs had a team field goal percentage of 54, along with a free shot percentage of 60.
“Our field goal percentage was positive, but I’m hoping we can continue to play better defense,” Fanning said. “We are not communicating really well, and as the competition gets better it’s going to be tougher to guard.”
Coach Fanning rotated practically all of the Lady Bulldogs, and four of them hit double digit scoring.
“It was a good balance and a lot of people got to play, so it’s a good start for us,” Fanning said.
Fanning’s Lady Bulldogs will be at home for a final exhibition game against the basketball travelers and will kickoff the regular season by hosting the preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament.