It was another tighter-than-expected battle for Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs grabbed a road win Tuesday evening, never fully pulling away but maintaining a lead over Louisiana-Monroe for a 78-70 victory.
MSU (11-1) turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 24 points for the Warhawks (3-6), but the Bulldogs pounded the ball inside and shot 53.6 percent from the field, outscoring ULM 44-24 in the paint. Kenyan center Madina Okot had her third straight double-double and her fifth of the season, finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds on 7-for-9 shooting and adding three steals.
Jerkaila Jordan continued her recent run of excellent play, scoring 23 points and going 8-for-15 from the floor. It was Jordan’s fifth consecutive game with 20 or more points, and she added three blocks as well. Debreasha Powe was the third MSU player in double figures with 13 points, and she and Chandler Prater were a combined 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Point guard Denim DeShields chipped in with six assists.
Eniya Russell played just nine minutes — she had played at least 23 in each of the Bulldogs’ first 11 games — giving way to Destiney McPhaul at the wing position. Russell subbed out after committing her first foul of the game early in the second quarter and did not return.
Back-to-back baskets from Quanirah Montague gave MSU a late first-quarter lead, but the Warhawks closed the second quarter on a 6-0 run to cut their deficit to just one at the half. Okot’s jumper early in the third gave the Bulldogs the lead for good and jump-started a 14-2 run, with all the scoring coming from Okot, Powe and Jordan.
ULM responded with a 10-0 run of its own and closed within a single point in the fourth quarter, but MSU knocked down enough free throws down the stretch to hold on. The Warhawks’ leading scorer, Jakayla Johnson, had 18 points but finished just 6-for-21 shooting.
The Bulldogs conclude their stretch of eight straight games away from Humphrey Coliseum on Friday with a trip to Princess Anne, Maryland, for a game against Maryland-Eastern Shore.
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