No. 5 MSU Rolls to Perfect Non-Conference Finish

Wednesday, December 28

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

14-0

106

Northwestern State

6-5

Northwestern St.

Mississippi State

106

No. 5 MSU Rolls to Perfect Non-Conference Finish

December 28, 2016 | Women's Basketball

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STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 5 Mississippi State rang out the old year on a winning note as the Bulldogs knocked off Northwestern State 106-30 in women's basketball action played Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU completed its non-conference schedule at 14-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Bulldogs shot 52.7 percent from the field and topped 100 points for the second time this season.

The 76-point difference is the second-largest margin of victory in school history. The largest margin of victory was 82 points in a win versus Judson College in 1986.

The contest was played before a holiday crowd of 6,352, which is good for seventh all-time in program history.

"I want to give the good Lord the glory tonight," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "We have navigated a difficult non-conference schedule. He provided us good passage and good health for our talented, young ladies.

"When you are the two best players on the team (Victoria Vivians and Breanna Richardson), you should show up and play like it. These two did that tonight."

Vivians scored 22 points, while Richardson added a season-high 21 points for the Bulldogs. Also in double figures were Teaira McCowan with 14 points, Blair Schaefer with 13 points and Ameshya Williams with a season-high matching 12 points.

McCowan finished with 12 rebounds to collect her first double-double of the season. Richardson also had eight boards. Jazzmun Holmes had seven assists off the bench. Williams finished with three of her team's 12 blocked shots.

Overall, the Bulldogs forced 32 turnovers, with 15 steals. Vivians led the team with five steals, tying her career high.

"We have a lot of areas to work on defensively," Schaefer said. "You might not think that after allowing 30 points, but I see a lot of areas we need to work on. The Southeastern Conference can expose you in some areas. Offensively, we are playing very well right now."

MSU scored the first four points of the game and never trailed. A layup by Vivians ran the lead to 13-2 less than four minutes into the contest. A 13-0 run fueled by the defense pushed the advantage to 26-4.

MSU shot 52.3 percent from the field in the first quarter and led 31-9 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, the defensive effort was even better. Northwestern State only hit two of 16 shots from the field in that period. The Bulldogs led 46-13 at halftime.

The Bulldogs also got a lift from Dominique Dillingham, who returned from injury to play 19 minutes.

In the second half, MSU opened things with a 17-2 run to open a 63-15 lead.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 39 of 74 shots from the field (52.7 percent), 8 of 17 shots from 3-point range (47.1 percent) and 20 of 31 shots from the foul line (64.5 percent). The Lady Demons hit 12 of 59 shots from the field (20.3 percent), 1 of 19 shots from 3-point range (5.3 percent) and 5 of 9 shots from the foul line (55.6 percent).

Northwestern State (6-5) received seven points and seven rebounds from Gabby Jackson.

MSU opens Southeastern Conference play with a 2 p.m. start on New Year's Day against LSU. The contest will be televised nationally on the SEC Network from Humphrey Coliseum.