With the first half of their season behind them and only one non-SEC opponent left on the schedule, the No. 14 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs opened play in the toughest conference in the country when they faced SEC opponent South Carolina.
“We have some young kids who are learning to become more mentally tough out there, and they are coming along well,” head coach Sharon Fanning said. “It is a long, hard season, and it is not how many times you get knocked down, but how quickly you get up. We have to learn to get up quickly.”
MSU will open home SEC action when they host perennial SEC and NCAA powerhouse No. 14 Vanderbilt Sunday at 2 p.m. Naismith Player of the Year candidate Chantelle Anderson leads the 10-3 Lady Commodores with 18.1 points per game.
“There are players in this league like Chantelle who can really dominate,” Fanning said. “We have to learn to play our game and really focus and get into our game plan and our team defense. We have kids who are coming along, but you can’t replace experience.”
The Lady Commodores have two other players in double-figures scoring: Jenni Benningfield with 15.1 points and Ashley McElhiney with 10.5. Benningfield also leads Vandy with eight rebounds per game and McElhiney chips in 9.3 assists per outing.
Anderson’s 18 points per outing rank fourth in the SEC trailing Jocelyn Penn from South Carolina and MSU’s own LaToya Thomas and Tan White. Benningfield’s eight boards rank seventh in the conference. Thomas for the Lady Bulldogs ranks eighth in the SEC.
The Lady Bulldogs will then travel to Oxford on Jan. 19, to take on the University of Mississippi. MSU swept the series last season with an 82-57 home win and an 87-67 road victory over the Rebels. Despite the Bulldogs’ recent success, winning six of the last seven meetings, the Rebels own the career series with a 53-9 record.
Amber Watts, who averages 12.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and Ashley Johnson, with 9.5 points, lead the 10-2 Rebels.
On Jan. 23, MSU will return to The Hump to take on Auburn, who has had a blazing start at 12-1.