STARKVILLE — Tick, tick, tick.
The Mississippi State women’s basketball team has seven days before it plays host to LSU in its Southeastern Conference opener.
In that time, MSU coach Sharon Fanning-Otis wants her team to get stronger, tougher, and more mature for the rigors of a 16-game slate that will determine its postseason fate.
MSU (9-2) will take its next-to-last non-conference test at 6 tonight when it takes on Oklahoma State (7-0) in the Peppermill Holiday Classic in Reno, Nev. The winner of that game will meet the winner of the Nevada-Long Island game for the tournament title Friday.
MSU arrived in Nevada on Tuesday night after taking five days off for Christmas. The team practiced Monday and Tuesday before starting a whirlwind of activity that ended Wednesday night with a tournament banquet. Fanning-Otis had one more film to watch to complete her scouting of the teams and said she was eager to see if her team was ready for the next phase of its season.
“When we talked this morning, we said you have two games to get ready for the league,” Fanning-Otis said. “This is a very emotional time for Oklahoma State. We emphasized that to our basketball team and that they are playing for a cause, and sometimes when things happen that put you in a tough situation you just put aside things and just play, and play hard.”
On Nov. 17, OSU coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna died in a plane crash in Perry County, Ark. The pilot and his wife also were killed in the crash. Budke, 50, was in his seventh season as coach of the team. The Cowgirls canceled their next two games but have moved on with former assistant coach Jim Littell serving as interim coach.
Freshman forward Liz Donohoe (14.6 points per game) leads a team that has four players in double figures and is averaging 79.9 points a game. Junior forward Toni Young (12.2 ppg.) leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. The Cowgirls have seven players on their roster 6-foot or taller.
Fanning-Otis said OSU has been playing with a sense of urgency. She said the Cowgirls have been in effective in numerous areas, as evidenced by the fact they are shooting 46.3 percent from the field, are outrebounding opponents (48-34.6), have a positive assist-to-turnover (134-106) ratio), and have attempted more free throws than their opponents.
OSU has won each of its games by an average of more than 32 points. Its closest win was an 83-72 victory at Indiana. It defeated Alcorn State 69-36. MSU beat Alcorn State 66-48.
Fanning-Otis said the Lady Bulldogs have to match the passion and focus the Cowgirls will bring to the court. She hopes that the team, which is coming off a 72-38 victory against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Dec. 19, can match OSU’s intensity and negate its statistical advantages to have a chance to win and move one step closer to its goal of winning the tournament.
“We have to play really, really, really hard and outwork them,” Fanning-Otis said. “They are a team that does play hard and works together. We just have to step up.”
MSU senior point guard Diamber Johnson leads the SEC in scoring at 17.9 ppg. She needs five assists to reach 300 for her career. Senior guard Porsha Porter, who is averaging a team-best 20.3 ppg. in the past three games, is averaging 14.6 ppg. They are the SEC’s highest scoring backcourt combination.
Senior Ashley Brown (8.4 rpg.) and freshman Martha Alwal (8.8) are fourth and third, respectively, in the SEC in rebounding. Brown is coming off a game-high 15-point effort against ULL.
Fanning-Otis said Wednesday that Alwal and Brown likely would start tonight. She said senior Catina Bett likely would come off the bench. She also said everyone seems like they are healthy and that freshman Shamia Robinson, of West Oktibbeha County High School in Maben, should be in the rotation.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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