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MSU-Vanderbilt Game Notes
REVIEWING THE COMMODORES
Vanderbilt
comes to Starkville sporting a 17-5 overall record and 5-4 SEC mark
following consecutive victories over Georgia, Auburn and LSU. The
Commodores are just 1-3 on the road in league play compared to a 4-1
mark in Nashville. Away from Memorial Gymnasium, Vandy is averaging 58
ppg against SEC competition, compared to a 68.6 tally at home. The
Commodores are paced in scoring by SEC leader Christina Foggie at 17.8
ppg. She is averaging 17.9 ppg in league play. Tiffany Clarke and
Stephanie Holzer pace Vandy on the boards with 7.1 each per contest.
Vanderbilt scored a 66-61 road win against Auburn Thursday night. The
Lady Tigers held Foggie to just nine points, but Clarke stepped up with
26 to lead three Vandy players in double fi gures. The Commodores shot
48.9 percent from the fl oor, including 33.3 percent from three-point
range, while nailing 20-22 (90.9 percent) of their free-throw chances. BATTLE OF THE SEC’S TOP SCORERS
Sunday’s
battle features the SEC’s leading scorers in Foggie of Vanderbilt and
Mississippi State’s Diamber Johnson. Johnson paced the league in
scoring most of the season, but in the past few weeks Foggie claimed
the top spot. Foggie enters Sunday’s game averaging 17.8 ppg on the
season, while Johnson is scoring at a 16.4 clip for MSU. STATE FINDS ITS SHOOTING TOUCH
Mississippi
State struggled from the fl oor against South Carolina and Arkansas,
shooting 28.3 percent from the fi eld and just 4.3 percent from
three-point range, but that changed againt UGA as the Lady Bulldogs
shot 41.1 percent. After fi ring at a 39.1-percent clip in the fi rst
half, State shot 42.4 percent in the second half, it’s best effort in
the final 20 minutes since a 47.6-percent effort in MSU’s road
victory at Ole Miss. LADY DAWGS CLAIM WIN NO. 13
Mississippi
State’s 62-57 win against Auburn on Jan. 22 notched the 13th victory of
the year for the Lady Bulldogs. This year’s squad matched last season’s
victory total in the 19th game. State reached the 13-win plateau before
Jan. 23 for the fi rst time since the 2008-09 season and just the third
time since 2003-04. LADY DAWGS HAVE A TOP DEFENSE
Despite
its last two foes eclipsing the 40-percent mark from the fi eld,
Mississippi State still features the SEC’s second-best fi eld goal
percentage defense. The Lady Bulldogs are holding opponents to 35.2
percent from the
fl oor, the 35th-best mark in the nation.
MSU
has been even better on defense at home, holding foes to 30.9 percent
from the fi eld and 26.0 percent from three-point range.
3-BALL STREAK ENDS
Mississippi
State was unable to get a three to drop at South Carolina, halting a
run of consecutive games with a three at 182. State went 0-8 from
beyond the arc, the fi rst time MSU went without a bucket from three
since another 0-8 outing against Kentucky on Feb. 19, 2006. SWAT TEAM
Mississippi
State blocked nine shots Thursday night against Georgia, giving State
an SEC second-most 5.9 per game this season. That tally is also good
enough for 13th in the country. The Lady Bulldogs have swatted 7.3
shots per game over the last four contests. The
Lady Bulldogs, who blocked a school-record 14 shots in a season-opening
win against Jacksonville State (Nov.11), have eclipsed the 100-block
mark for the fourth-straight year. State’s 130 tally is the third-most
by an MSU squad.
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