The Mississippi State Lady Dawgs stole the leather treasure from the New Orleans Privateers 14 times Friday and smoothly sailed to a 91-50 win.
Pressure defense had the Privateer freshmen guards walking the plank. State forced 29 turnovers that led to 35 points.
“We were trying to force them to the baseline,” Doceide Warren said. “That allowed the other player to get in the passing lane.”
Senior guard Tan White led all scorers with 27 points on 10-16 from the field, had a game-high six assists and just two turnovers and the Lady Dawgs led 43-17 at the break.
“This is how we have to play all season,” White said. “At halftime we said, ‘Keep the intensity up.'”
Head coach Sharon Fanning said the team had stressed defensive pressure and she saw many things that pleased her.
“We felt like turnovers would be important,” she said. “You have to defend and rebound before you can run.”
Fanning said shooting above 50 percent in the second half and being plus five in the assist to turnover ratio were huge.
The coach added there were two areas where she wants to see improvement.
She wants her team to exceed opponents by 10 in rebounding margin and free throw margin.
The Lady Dawgs won the battle of the boards 47-44 but New Orleans made 16 of 25 free throws while State made 10 of 22.
Guard Tiania Burns followed White’s effort with 15 points and Blessing Chekwa added 10.
Burns said converting defense into offense gave the Lady Dawgs their spark.
“The coaches emphasized they wouldn’t be able to handle pressure,” she said. “That was our main focus and we got a lot of points off turnovers.”
Eleven Lady Dawgs played and all 11 scored via 19 assists.
UNO’s Tomesia Winston posted the game’s only double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds but the other four Privateer starters combined for 19 points.
White wants the Lady Dawg defense to maintain its intensity.
“If we play like we did tonight, the defense should get better,” White said. “We know we can’t let up.”