STARKVILLE — Mississippi State shot the lights out.
The Bulldogs women’s basketball team had just put up a 25-point third quarter against Little Rock on Sunday, stretching its lead to 62-41. As Queen’s “We Will Rock You” streamed over the Humphrey Coliseum loudspeakers, the power suddenly died, shrouding the court in darkness for a couple minutes until power was restored.
After a short delay, the lights came back on, and Mississippi State picked up where it left off.
The Bulldogs kept adding to their lead, scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter, and went on to beat the Trojans 89-50, tying their best clip from the field so far this season. Mississippi State (12-2) made 35 of its 63 field goal attempts for 55.6 percent, and all 12 players who saw the floor scored at least two points.
“I think we just shot it well,” Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. “I do think we got deep in the lane a lot. I like the way we attacked. We’d like to do that every night.”
Mississippi State found consistent success with its inside game, as post players Jessika Carter, Yemiyah Morris and Promise Taylor combined to make seven of nine shots. But it was the Bulldogs’ guards who proved even more successful.
Freshman Aliyah Matharu exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring all 18 of her points in the period and leading the Bulldogs in scoring. She followed Schaefer’s plan for offensive success., scoring in the paint time and time again in the fourth.
“I just tried to do what he said, because it worked,” Matharu said. “Listening to him, it works. I wasn’t listening at first, but tonight proves that attacking the basket works.”
Schaefer said he wasn’t surprised.
“I think there were some folks out on the floor that were looking around, going, ‘Who is this kid?'” Schaefer said. “I’ve been seeing it for a while now, and I told her the other day in practice, ‘There’s nobody who can guard you.'”
Matharu made seven of her 13 shot attempts, tied for second on the team with five rebounds and didn’t commit a single turnover — a stat line Schaefer loved to see.
“That’s the way this kid can be,” Schaefer said. “She can go on a tear now.”
Mississippi State received solid contributions from several players besides Matharu on Sunday. Graduate guard Jordan Danberry kept up her consistency with 15 points, and freshman Rickea Jackson continued a solid stretch of play with 14 points.
Jackson has scored at least 14 or more points in six of the past seven games and scored all 14 points in the first half Sunday. She used a smooth midrange game for a majority of her scoring against the Trojans but wasn’t afraid to drive to the basket when she needed to.
“I’m getting more and more comfortable with it, especially being in college,” Jackson said. “In high school, there was always a 5-5 girl on me, so it was just easier for me to not even really jump. But here, I have to actually jump and elevate over the person and attack the basket first.”
Jackson’s efforts in the first half buoyed the Bulldogs, who took a 37-23 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, Danberry and freshman Jayla Hemingway provided a large part of the Bulldogs’ scoring.
“She does the things that help you win,” Schaefer said of Hemingway, who finished with six points and three rebounds. “They don’t stand out, but I see it. I’ve seen it in practice. Really proud of her today and her continued growth.”
Junior Chloe Bibby, who wasn’t in the starting lineup as a result of a recent concussion, also contributed in the third. Bibby went through a non-contact practice Saturday and was cleared for contact Sunday, and she went 2 of 5 from the field for five points.
Sophomore guard Xaria Wiggins, who replaced Bibby and earned her first career start, struggled Sunday, going 1 of 6 from the field and turning the ball over five times.
“I need Xaria to play better,” Schaefer said. “Maybe the starting piece was a little uncomfortable for her, and she’s more comfortable coming off the bench. … Xaria’s gonna be fine. She was upset that she didn’t play well, and I like that too. I like people that care and want to play well.”
Wiggins’ teammates picked her up nicely, as Mississippi State got 40 points from Matharu and the bench unit Sunday. Despite a few moments early on where the Bulldogs’ defense lagged, Schaefer was happy with the performance.
“I got upset a little bit just because I don’t think we played very hard at times,” he said. “I think the film will show that, and they’ll learn that. But we scored 89 points and held them to 50, and we’re gonna take that every night.”
The win wraps up a solid nonconference schedule for the Bulldogs — Schaefer noted wins against perennial NCAA tournament teams as well as losses to Stanford and West Virginia — and begins what he called the “nightmare” of Southeastern Conference play. Mississippi State will host Florida at 7:10 p.m. Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum to open its conference slate.
“We’ll try to grow from this, get better, move on, and we’ve gotta get ready now for the SEC,” Schaefer said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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