|
No. 3 Bulldogs Use Defense To Down Phoenix, Wrap Perfect Cancun Challenge
No.
3 Mississippi State shook off fatigue with some great defense to beat
Green Bay 67-46 in women’s basketball action Saturday at the Cancun
Challenge.
The Bulldogs finished the three-day event at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya with a 3-0 record, while moving to 6-0 overall.
Victoria
Vivians led four Bulldogs in double figures with 17 points. Roshunda
Johnson added 14 points, while Blair Schaefer had 13 points and Morgan
William had 10 points. Teaira McCowan barely missed her third
double-double in the tournament with nine points and a team-high 13
rebounds.
William had five assists, while Johnson had three steals and McCowan had three blocks.
“Green
Bay is really good,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. “I thought the
kids were special today. I am proud of the kids. We had a 6:50 a.m.
scout on the outside court. The kids were attentive and they took it to
the court.”
The
Bulldogs started strong on the defensive end. A 12-0 run allowed the
squad to grab a 14-3 lead. Green Bay was held to one field goal for
better than seven minutes to start the game.
A
3-pointer by Johnson capped the run. Vivians scored the final five
points of the quarter as the Bulldogs led 17-6 after one quarter.
A
3-pointer and follow-up basket by Schaefer ran the lead to 20-6 with
9:08 left in the half. A layup by McCowan would later run the lead to
18 at 31-13 with 2:21 left in the half.
“We
knew what were capable of doing,” Vivians said. “We came out focused.
We watched film last week and were prepared. When we share the
basketball and get everybody involved, we are unstoppable.”
Green
Bay pulled back within 12 in the early stages of the third quarter. A
12-0 MSU run pushed the lead to 49-24 late in the third quarter.
For
the contest, MSU hit 22 of 57 shots from the field (38.6 percent), 10
of 23 shots from 3-point range (43.5 percent) and 13 of 19 shots from
the foul line (68.4 percent). Green Bay hit 19 of 56 shots from the
field (33.9 percent), 5 of 15 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent)
and 3 of 4 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).
Through
six contests this season, State has made double-digit shots behind the
arc in three of those games, one less than last year’s total of four.
Green
Bay held a 40-33 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 11 assists and
nine turnovers, while the Phoenix had nine assists and 17 turnovers.
Green
Bay (5-1) received 14 points from Jessica Lindstrom and seven rebounds
from Frankie Wurtz. It was the lowest point total for the Phoenix since
a 43-point outing against Rutgers on Nov. 28, 2015.
MSU
shot the highest percentage from the field allowed by Green Bay this
season and also collected the most points allowed through six games.
The Phoenix tallied their lowest point total since Nov. 28, 2015.
MSU
will play Louisiana at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Mississippi Coliseum in
Jackson. On the eve of the game, the Central Chapter of the MSU Alumni
Association will host a free event and team meet and greet at the
Westin in Jackson beginning at 6 p.m.
|
Contact us