RENO, Nev. — The Mississippi State women’s basketball team erased a 16-point second-half deficit Friday night and rallied for a 67-63 victory against Nevada in the consolation game of the Peppermill Classic at the Lawlor Events Center.
MSU bounced back from a 78-71 loss to Oklahoma State in the tournament’s opening round on Thursday night. With the victory, MSU completes the non-conference portion of its 2011-12 schedule with a 10-3 overall record.
“The first half was totally forgettable,” MSU coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. “We have to get the players to understand mental toughness. You have to have pride in the uniform you are putting on. Fortunately, things got a lot better and we played a solid second half.”
MSU shot 25 percent from the field (9 of 36) in the first half. Nevada (3-10) pulled away from an early 11-all tie with eight straight points. MSU went better than four minutes without scoring before Porsha Porter hit a 3-pointer. After a steal and layup by Porter, Diamber Johnson hit a game-tying 3-pointer.
MSU went another four minutes without scoring as Nevada opened a 10-point advantage on a 3-pointer by Kate Kevorken.
Nevada shot 56.5 percent from the floor in the first half and led 35-24 at halftime.
“We were not executing our assignments on defense,” Fanning-Otis said. “We had a great deal of difficulty in stopping the penetration. We didn’t have a lot of focus or intensity about what we were trying to do.
“When the shots aren’t falling, you have to be even better on the defensive end.”
The Wolfpack actually enjoyed a 16-point lead three times, the last at 47-31 with 15 minutes, 23 seconds remaining. Strong inside play by Catina Bett and Ashley Brown slowly sparked a comeback.
The Lady Bulldogs were within nine two minutes later. MSU got within six on a Porter layup at 59-53 with 9:16 left. Porter tied the teams at 59 as she capped an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer at the 7:26 mark.
Nevada quickly built the lead back to four before MSU answered with a Jerica James 3-pointer at the 5:27 mark. The Lady Bulldogs took the lead on a Shamia Johnson jumper with 2:40 left. Kendra Grant scored a critical insurance basket with 43 seconds left.
The MSU defensive effort saved the day as Nevada was held to two field goals in the final 9:47.
“Our defensive intensity was much better in the second half,” Fanning-Otis said. “We hold them to 37 percent shooting in the second half and that is a number we can live with. We did a better job of taking care of the basketball on our offensive end and forcing some turnovers on the defensive end there late in the game.”
Johnson had 23 points, four assists and three steals to pace MSU. Porter added 19 points, three assists, and two steals. Robinson had a career-high 10 rebounds, while Bett had nine. James had a career-high five assists in 13 minutes.
Kevorken paced the Wolfpack with 27 points and seven rebounds.
MSU will open Southeastern Conference action at 7 p.m. Thursday when it plays host to LSU at the Humphrey Coliseum.
n Alabama 80, Air Force 45: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Junior guard Meghan Perkins notched her first career double-double with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds Friday night to help the University of Alabama women’s basketball team (10-4) close 2011 with a victory at Foster Auditorium.
Junior forward Kyra Crosby tied her career-high with 13 points, while freshman forward Aneesah Daniels, sophomore guard Jasmine Robinson and junior guard Celiscia Farmer each added eight points apiece for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama will open Southeastern Conference play Sunday at the University of South Carolina.
Men
n Dayton 62, Ole Miss 50: At Dayton, Ohio, Chris Johnson scored 16 points and Dayton used two second-half runs in a victory against the University of Mississippi on Friday night.
Dayton (10-4) built a 28-23 halftime lead to a 39-27 advantage early in the second half. The 11-5 run to start the second was sparked by consecutive 3-pointers by Johnson. Ole Miss (9-4) cut Dayton’s lead to 47-41 with 7:44 left, but the Flyers answered with an 11-4 run to take control for good.
Dayton dominated Ole Miss 43-33 on the boards. Rebels leading rebounder Murphy Holloway missed his first game of the season with a high ankle sprain. Dayton starting forward Josh Benson left the game twice in the first half with an injured left knee. He did not play in the second half and will have an MRI on Saturday.
Paul Williams added 12 points for Dayton. Jarvis Williams led Ole Miss with 14 points.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.