STARKVILLE — Next woman up, part deux.

If Kayla Nevitt has learned anything this season, it is to be ready on the bench.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore has one of the sweetest shooting strokes on the Mississippi State women’s basketball team. But it can be a challenge to find playing time when you’re behind a lunch-pail player like Dominique Dillingham and a scorer like Victoria Vivians.

Faced with an opportunity to make her mark Sunday with Dillingham in foul trouble, Nevitt didn’t disappoint, hitting two free throws in the final three minutes and playing strong defense against Michigan State’s Aerial Powers in No. 5 seed Mississippi State’s 74-72 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Humphrey Coliseum.

“I just knew I had to come in and get some stops,” Nevitt said. “I knew Dom was out and had fouled out, but it wasn’t that hard for me because I go against Tori (Vivians) all of the time (in practice), and everyone knows she is a handful.

“I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. I knew I had to lock down and contain her, or make sure she didn’t shoot the three. I just had the right mind-set to go in and stop her and don’t let her score.”

Nevitt’s defense helped the Bulldogs hold the Spartans to 2-of-8 shooting and four turnovers down the stretch. MSU needed that defense to help it recover from losing a 13-point lead in the third quarter and seeing Michigan State (25-9) go on a game-changing 20-0 run.

The victory helped MSU (28-7) set a record for wins and secured it a spot in the Sweet 16 of the Bridgeport Regional next weekend. MSU will play the winner of tonight’s game between three-time reigning national champion Connecticut and Duquesne at a time to be determined Saturday in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

“Our bench played well the night before last and I thought they played well tonight,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “Kayla Nevitt came in and gave us some big-time minutes. She made two big free throws.”

Nevitt’s free throws with 2 minutes, 14 seconds remaining gave the Bulldogs a 69-67 lead. Tori Jankoska answered with two free throws to tie the game and set the stage for a 3-pointer by Breanna Richardson with 33.6 seconds left that provided the separation MSU needed.

The work wasn’t done, though, as Nevitt still had to shadow Powers, the Spartans’ leading scorer (22 points per game), and prevent her from working her magic with her creativity and athleticism.

“Her not seeing her shot go in, I hope it frustrated her,” Nevitt said. “I am not sure that if it did, but she didn’t hit any shots when I was on her. She did try to post me up once, but the girl shot it and she got mad at her. I was like, ‘Yes, they are getting frustrated.’ ”

Nevitt credited assistant coach Elena Lovato for making the Bulldogs work on free throws every day after practice. She said she wasn’t fazed by the enormity of the moment when she stepped to the free-throw line. She said the crowd of 7,094 helped push the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.

“If we don’t (shoot free throws), we run,” Nevitt said. “I just went into the after-practice zone like I am just shooting free throws. It is nothing. I just went in my head and told myself, ‘It is nothing. Just shoot them.’ I just shot them and it went in and I was like, ‘Yes.’ I was like one more and I shot it.”

Nevitt’s effort was part of another strong performance by MSU’s reserves. Richardson added 12 points off the bench, Williams had a key block on the final sequence, and Teaira McCowan had four points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes. Against Chattanooga, the Bulldogs received an equally strong showing led by sophomore LaKaris Salter, who had five points in eight minutes. The Bulldogs needed all of the bench contributions in a 60-50 victory against the Mocs.

On Sunday, the efforts of Nevitt and all of the Bulldogs whipped the fourth-largest crowd in program history into a frenzy and created one of loudest environments in recent memory.

For Nevitt, it was exhilarating to be on the court playing a role in such a big victory.

“The fans were incredible,” Nevitt said. “The first day, we thought, ‘Gosh, we have a lot of fans.’ But the second day, it was like double that. It was amazing. The atmosphere, the fans, they were amazing. We were just happy we got to play at home. It just felt so good, just hearing the crowd cheer or the when they though the refs made a bad call they booed them. It was amazing.”

Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor

Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.