Sunday, January 1
Starkville
2:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
LSU
No. 5 MSU Ushers In 2017, SEC Play Sunday Against LSU
December 31, 2016 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After winning 14-straight in a challenging non-conference slate, No. 5 Mississippi State opens 2017 and the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule with a New Year's Day tilt against LSU.
Tip from Humphrey Coliseum is set for 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for adults, while admission is free for youth high school age and under.
Aramark will offer a traditional New Year's meal of black-eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread to the first 200 fans. Bully's Kidz Kourt opens at 1 and offers inflatables and other games.
SEC Network will broadcast the contest nationally. WKBB-FM 100.9 will have the radio call in the Golden Triangle area, and WCNA-FM 95.9 will carry the game in the Tupelo, Corinth and Oxford areas. Fans can listen to the free audio stream at hailstate.com/plus.
MSU heads into SEC play the league's only unbeaten team and one of just five teams in the nation without a loss. State is coming off an impressive 106-30 win against Northwestern State on Wednesday, the second-largest margin of victory in program history.
State, who was picked to finish second in the league in the preseason, seeks to win its league opener for the third-straight year. The Bulldogs also seek a second-consecutive victory against the Lady Tigers (11-2) after winning 71-52 in Baton Rouge last season.
SERIES vs. LSU
Tip from Humphrey Coliseum is set for 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for adults, while admission is free for youth high school age and under.
Aramark will offer a traditional New Year's meal of black-eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread to the first 200 fans. Bully's Kidz Kourt opens at 1 and offers inflatables and other games.
SEC Network will broadcast the contest nationally. WKBB-FM 100.9 will have the radio call in the Golden Triangle area, and WCNA-FM 95.9 will carry the game in the Tupelo, Corinth and Oxford areas. Fans can listen to the free audio stream at hailstate.com/plus.
MSU heads into SEC play the league's only unbeaten team and one of just five teams in the nation without a loss. State is coming off an impressive 106-30 win against Northwestern State on Wednesday, the second-largest margin of victory in program history.
State, who was picked to finish second in the league in the preseason, seeks to win its league opener for the third-straight year. The Bulldogs also seek a second-consecutive victory against the Lady Tigers (11-2) after winning 71-52 in Baton Rouge last season.
SERIES vs. LSU
- Sunday's meeting will be the 55th between Mississippi State and LSU. The Tigers have won 47 of those meetings, with five of MSU's seven wins coming in Starkville.
- State won last year's meeting in Baton Rouge 71-52. The Bulldogs recorded its largest margin of victory in the series to win at LSU for just the second time and snap a nine-game Tiger win streak in the series.
- Victoria Vivians had 14 points and nine rebounds in the win, while Morgan William and Dominique Dillingham added 11 and 10 points, each.
- The last meeting in Starkville went to double overtime before LSU prevailed 71-69. Dillingham led MSU with 28 points, while Jerica James added 16.
- LSU enters league play 11-2, having won seven-straight games with a 93-40 win against Alabama State on Wednesday. LSU's only true road game came in the season opener, a 77-73 win at Louisiana Tech
- The Lady Tigers are shooting 45.7% from the field for the season, with three players averaging double figures. Raigyne Moncrief paces LSU with 14.8 ppg, while Chloe Jackson and Alexis Hyder average 11.9 and 10.1 ppg, respectively.
- Hyder leads the team with 5.6 rpg.
- State returns to the road, heading to Arkansas on Jan. 5 and Tennessee on Jan. 8. Both games will be broadcast online on SEC Network +.
- Mississippi State opens SEC play 14-0, the only undefeated SEC team and one of just five teams in the nation without a loss.
- The Bulldogs have won their last two conference openers.
- MSU is opening league play at home for just the third time in 11 years. It's the second time in that span the Bulldogs have opened against LSU. The other was Jan. 5, 2012.
- Sunday will be the first time MSU has played on New Year's Day.
- The 76-point win against Northwestern St. is the program's second-largest margin of victory.
- The Dawgs' 14-0 start is the second-best in school history. It is the second time in the last three seasons and the third time overall a Bulldog squad has gone perfect in non-conference.
- MSU has held eight opponents, four of its last five, to 50 points or less and 12 below 70 this season. State is third in the SEC and 17th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 53.1 ppg.
- Wednesday's 106 points puts State at 81.9 ppg for the year, tops in the SEC, 17th nationally. After scoring its season low at Little Rock, MSU has averaged 90.8 ppg the last four games.
- State had its second-best shooting night of the season on Wednesday (52.7%). It is the sixth time this season MSU has shot 50% or higher from the field this year. The Bulldogs are shooting 48.1% the last four games and 47.8% for the year, first in the SEC, 16th in the nation.
- The Bulldogs forced a season-high 32 turnovers against the Lady Demons. MSU owns a +9.0 turnover margin that leads the league and is sixth in the Division I ranks.
- Victoria Vivians reached 20 points for the second-straight game. MSU is 21-3 in her career when she scores 20 or more points. She is averaging 23.0 ppg the last three games.
- Vivians moved into eighth on MSU's career scoring list Wednesday (1,348 pts.)
- Junior Blair Schaefer drew her first-career start on Wednesday and added 13 points. She is averaging 10.4 ppg the last five games, shooting 40% from the field and 48% from the arc.
- Senior Dominique Dillingham saw her first action since Nov. 27.
- Breanna Richardson had a career-high 21 points on Wednesday. She is scoring at a 10.8 clip and shooting 71.1% from the field her last six games.
- Jazzmun Holmes is averaging 6.3 assists the last four games. She had seven Wednesday.
- Morgan William is second in the SEC, 15th nationally, with 63 made free throws on the year.
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