HATTIESBURG — The Mississippi State women”s basketball team used its best defensive performance of the season to earn a 50-40 victory against Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum on Wednesday night.
MSU (6-2) held USM (5-4) to 21.3 percent shooting from the field to win its third straight against its state rival. Despite its offensive struggles, the Lady Bulldogs still gave coach Sharon Fanning-Otis a very happy birthday.
“We held them to 21 percent shooting,” Fanning-Otis said. “There were a lot of rebounds for both teams. Fortunately, we were able to get a bunch of them. We also forced 22 turnovers. Defensively, it was a great game. Any time you win on the road it makes for a happy birthday.”
The contest was nip-and-tuck throughout the first half. MSU led 18-17 lead with 4 minutes, 34 seconds left before halftime. From there, the Lady Bulldogs pieced together a 7-2 run. A basket by Diamber Johnson ran the advantage to 25-19 inside the final minute, and helped MSU take a 27-22 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Bulldogs took the defensive pressure to another level, as Southern Miss converted only 3 of 25 shots from the field for 12 percent shooting.
On its opening possession of the second half, Southern Miss” Danielle Johnson hit a 3-pointer. The Lady Bulldogs followed with an 11-1 run to create the first double-digit margin of the contest. Danielle Rector had a jumper and then followed with back-to-back free throws to cap that run. After that run, the hosts got no closer than eight points the remainder of the way.
“(I am) very proud of the defensive effort,” Fanning-Otis said. “Offensively, we had some struggles. However, we were able to make enough plays to win the game.”
MSU hit 18 of 55 shots from the field (32.7 percent), 1 of 12 shots from 3-point range (8.3 percent), and 13 of 24 shots from the free-throw line (52.7 percent). The Lady Eagles hit 10 of 47 shots from the field (21.3 percent), 3 of 13 shots from 3-point range (23.1 percent), and 17 of 22 shots from the free-throw line (77.3 percent).
MSU held a 43-39 rebounding advantage. The Lady Bulldogs had seven assists and 16 turnovers, while the Lady Eagles had four assists and 22 turnovers.
Ashley Brown paced the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points and nine rebounds. Rector added 11 points. In her second contest in a MSU uniform, Catina Bett added seven points and eight rebounds, including six on the defensive end.
Jamierra Falkner paced the Lady Eagles with 13 points. Danielle Johnson added 11 points. Geneshia Dunbar had a team-high nine rebounds for Southern Miss.
MSU will take on No. 5 Xavier at 6 p.m. Friday at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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