Coming off its first win of the season against Houston, the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team opened up its home slate against in-state foe Jackson State University and won in a blowout fashion 81-42.  This win marks the 28th-consecutive home opening win for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs played in front of the second-largest crowd in a non-conference game.  In the early parts of the game, head coach Vic Schaefer said he could see his team was still focused ontheir first win.
“In the first 10 minutes, we were not a good basketball team,” Schaefer said.  “We put so much emphasis on winning the first game at Houston, and it had a hangover effect on this game.”
The team would quickly rebound as MSU dominated both ends of the floor.  After being tied at 13 a piece at the 10:35 mark in the first half, the Lady Bulldogs went ahead to take the lead and never looked back.
On the offensive side of the court, the team received good play from everyone who saw action in the game.  The Lady Bulldogs had five players reach double figures in scoring and were led by junior center Martha Alwal’s 17 points.  Despite leading the team in scoring, Alwal said she still was not pleased with her performance and recognized there is room for improvement.
“I’m really frustrated that I got eight rebounds,” she said.  “I don’t think that should ever happen. I should have 10 every night, so I’m frustrated with that, and I also went 3-7 from the free throw line.”
Junior point guard Jerica James said she felt good when the team finally put its foot on the pedal and took off with the game.
“When it finally got going, it was really good,” James said.  “We felt the energy from the crowd as well as the energy from the players on the bench and the players on the floor.”
Defensively, the Bulldogs used consistent ball pressure, which gave the opposition fits.  MSU forced 29 turnovers, swatted nine shots, collected six charges and held JSU to just 25 percent shooting from the field.  
James said executing the team’s defensive strategy contributed to the Tigers’ bad shots.
“Pressuring the ball and playing good defense helps us, and that allowed them to take bad shots or no shots at all,” she said.
Defense has been a big part of the team’s success in both games this season. The Lady Bulldogs have forced a total of 51 turnovers in their first two games of the season, and Schaefer said he wants defensive pressure to be the identity of his team.
“This team is still learning as we go.  They are not afraid. It doesn’t matter their age or classification, they are not scared,” he said. “We’re going to try and be tough, defensive-minded and we always want to hang our hats on our defense.”
The Lady Bulldogs will put their defensive reputation and undefeated record to test Sunday as MSU hosts the University of New Orleans at 3 p.m. in the Humphrey Coliseum.