Still hampered by injuries, the Lady Bulldogs fell to 0-2 in exhibition play with a 79-68 loss to Adidas Premier Players. The Bulldogs played without four returning starters because of the injuries.
With most of the veteran’s on the bench Friday night head coach Sharon Fanning relied heavily on junior college transfer Tiana Burns and senior Seneca Anderson to lead the Bulldogs.
Fanning said that having Anderson, who was sidelined last week with a knee injury, back on the floor helped the younger players settle into the game.
“Every time a player comes back with experience, you’re going to see a little bit of a different look with a team,” said Fanning. “She brought a different presence to the team.”
In the first half the Bulldogs played with more cohesion than in last week’s game. Ten MSU players took the floor. MSU led the first 10 minutes of the game before turnovers allowed the Premier Players to take the lead. After giving up the lead, the Lady ‘Dawgs fought to stay close and went into halftime trailing by only one.
The Bulldogs shot 45.7 percent in the first half. Tiffany Burton led with seven points and Burns and Anderson added six points each.
Tonya Washington paced Adidas Premier with 12 first-half points.
Mississippi State took the lead twice early in the second half but could never pull away.
Turnovers led to an 11-point Lady Bulldog deficit with 1:41 left in the game. The Bulldogs had no fouls left to give and the Premier Players were able to run out the clock.
Burton finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds in her first start. Mamie McKinney added 12 points in 21 minutes. Coming into the game Burton, said she hoped to help in the rebounding game. She also said she was disappointed with the turnovers she had in the game.
“I just hoped to come in and crash the boards and get about 10 points,” said Burton. “I don’t know how many turnovers I had but I need to get those down.”
Burns, who posted the Bulldogs’ only double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, said the team worked on defense and intensity before the game. She also commented that they needed to do a better job playing for 40 minutes.
Tonya Washington and Mauri Horton led the Premier Players with 17 points each.
According the Fanning, the adversity the team has encountered during the preseason has had a positive impact on the Lady Bulldogs.
“It has been very good to have this group get the minutes that they have and learn,” Fanning said.