One step forward. One step back. The Lady Bulldogs aren’t dancing. They are jostling for a spot at the Big Dance.
After a sluggish 25-22 first half, hot perimeter shooting keyed Mississippi State’s (12-13, 6-6 SEC) 72-62 victory over South Carolina (10-15, 1-11 SEC) Thursday night.
USC tried a 2-3 zone for most of the half to limit inside scoring and Jessica Carter and Tan White made the Gamecocks crow.
“I think it’s smart when teams play zone against us,” Carter said. “They can’t play man or Tan and Tiania (Burns) will break them down.
Carter sank four treys for 12 points off the bench. White scored a game-high 32 points on 12-20 shooting.
White benefited from State’s efficient zone offense, scoring from inside and outside.
MSU head coach Sharon Fanning praised her team’s execution.
“It’s important to use pass fakes and penetrate a zone,” Fanning said. “We reversed the ball and made the extra pass.”
On Sunday the Lady Dawgs spotted the LSU Lady Tigers 10 points at the start of the game and never recovered.
LSU owned a 48-18 advantage in the paint in a 78-61 win.
Despite the loss the Lady Dawgs still have a shot at a postseason birth with two conference games remaining before the SEC Tournament.
“If we can pull out (our last two) games we could get a good rank and good seed,” White said.