TUSCALOOSA, Ala.– After an 0-3 start in the SEC, the Lady Bulldogs needed someone to step up at a crucial point in their season and turn things around.
Tan White scored a career- high 33 points along with 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks while leading the Lady Bulldogs to an 80-67 victory. According to White it was crucial to come out and play well against Kentucky.
“We had to come out and be patient with our offense,” White said. “We just let our defense slack up a little bit and they got some momentum.”
The girls in Maroon and White got off to a hot start against Kentucky but let them back into the game and even trailed going into the half. As White said, they needed to keep up the tempo.
“In the second half we were able to pick up the pace again and play better defense,” White said. “We played more focused on defense and I thought we played well overall.”
White wasn’t the only Lady Bulldog to play well against Kentucky. Point guard Tiania Burns scored 20 points on seven of 13 shooting including five of six from the three-point land.
“It is important to just stay confident in your shot,” Burns said. “It’s like coach Fanning tells us: just be confident to take the open shot and they will fall.”
This was the team’s fourth straight win over Kentucky at home. The Wildcats pulled back in the game with some hot shooting from shooting guard Sara Potts. But as coach Sharon Fanning said it was important to play a balanced ballgame.
“We just needed to come out and play hard and play smart,” Fanning said. “In the second half we needed to put some pressure on them. We ended up forcing 21 turnovers and I think that was a key to the game.”
The Lady Bulldogs tried to start a streak of their own after beating Kentucky and heading to Tuscaloosa to face the Crimson Tide on Sunday.
The Lady Bulldogs built a huge lead at halftime and were able to survive Bama’s second half surge and hold on for the 65-57 victory.
“This was a huge win for us,” Fanning said. “We really tried to pick up where we left off from the Kentucky game and play well.”
Building on the Kentucky win was a vital part of winning against the Crimson Tide.
“I think the first half of this game was probably the best half of basketball we have played all season,” Fanning said. “We just want to continue to improve every game we play.”
The Lady Bulldogs leaned on different players when their leader was in foul trouble late in the game. Tiania Burns turned in her second straight 20-point performance while Rebecca Kates and Mamie McKinney chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
“Being patient was the key,” Burns said. “They got back into the game in the second half but we just tried to relax and have fun while keeping focused on what we had to do.”
Late in the game the Tide was forced to foul to try and make the Bulldogs beat them at the charity stripe. The Dawgs twice missed the backend of a one-and-one opportunity.
On both occasions, McKinney got the offensive rebound over the Tide players to keep possession and key the victory for the girls from Starkville.
“I just did my best to get in position and get the rebound,” McKinney said. “We had been sending more players to the glass all game to compensate for their height advantage.”
Kates hit three out of four three-pointers. One came when the Bulldogs only led by five. As Kates said, the Tide’s defensive strategy allowed her to get more open shots.
“They kept focusing on Tan,” said Kates. “She could just post up and kick out to the rest of us for open looks at the basket. I was just able to hit the open shots.”
Although the Bulldogs were outrebounded by the Tide by 13, the Lady Dawgs were able to hold on for the win by forcing 22 turnovers including 17 in the first half.