Thursday, January 12
Starkville
8:00 PM
Mississippi State
18-0 (4-0SEC)
82
vs
49
Florida
9-8 (0-4SEC)
1
2
3
4
F
Florida
9
13
13
14
49
Mississippi State
24
24
21
13
82
Teaira McCowan scored a career-high 25 points as MSU improved to 18-0 and matched the best start in school history.
18-0! No. 4 MSU Rolls Past Gators To Match Program's Best Start
January 12, 2017 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 4 Mississippi State celebrated its return to the Humphrey Coliseum with a dominating 82-49 victory Florida in Southeastern Conference women's basketball action Thursday night.
The victory moved MSU to 18-0 on the season, matching the 2014-15 squad for the school record for victories to start a season. State notched win No. 18 by claiming its largest margin of victory ever against Florida. The Bulldogs used a 14-0 run to build a 20-5 lead and were never threatened in the contest.
The win also put State at 4-0 in league play for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs are one of two unbeatens left in Division I women's basketball.
"We give God the glory for 18-0," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "It is the second time in three seasons to start 18-0. The kids continue to surprise me. I didn't see that one coming. Our spacing of the floor, our execution and our defense in the first half was outstanding.
"To do it against the schedule they have done it against makes this really special. The kids have continued to go about their business and continued to work hard."
Teaira McCowan led the offensive attack with a career-high 25 points. McCowan hit her first 12 shots from the field. Victoria Vivians added 21 points, with the duo going a combined 19 of 32 from the field.
Chinwe Okorie also added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Okorie and McCowan combined to go 17 of 20 from the floor.
Guards Morgan William and Jazzmun Holmes combined for 10 assists and two turnovers, and Vivians had four of her team's 10 steals, giving her 4.0 spg her last five games.
The 14-0 run was capped by back-to-back baskets from Okorie and Vivians. A layup by McCowan ran out the first quarter with the Bulldogs leading 24-9.
A 3-pointer by William ran the lead to 17 points at 33-16 with 6:11 left in the half. Blair Schaefer also added a triple that sparked a half-ending 15-4 run to give the Maroon and White a 48-22 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs' tenacious defense continued to wear on the Gators in the second half. Florida only dressed eight players and had two foul out.
A 13-1 run pushed the lead to 63-28 late in the third quarter. The lead then grew to the game's largest at 36 points a few possessions later.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 32 of 59 shots from the field (46.4 percent), 5 of 21 shots from 3-point range (23.8 percent) and 13 of 17 shots from the foul line (76.5 percent). The Gators hit 16 of 41 shots from the field (39.0 percent), 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range (50.0 percent) and 13 of 19 shots from the foul line (68.4 percent).
MSU held a 36-31 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 22 assists and 10 turnovers, while the Gators had nine assists and 27 turnovers.
Florida (9-8, 0-4) received 17 points from Delicia Washington and 11 points from Ronni Williams. Tyshara Fleming and Washington each had six rebounds to lead the Gators.
MSU remains home for a 6 p.m. start against in-state rival Ole Miss. The Bulldog and Rebels play nationally on the SEC Network.
The victory moved MSU to 18-0 on the season, matching the 2014-15 squad for the school record for victories to start a season. State notched win No. 18 by claiming its largest margin of victory ever against Florida. The Bulldogs used a 14-0 run to build a 20-5 lead and were never threatened in the contest.
The win also put State at 4-0 in league play for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs are one of two unbeatens left in Division I women's basketball.
"We give God the glory for 18-0," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "It is the second time in three seasons to start 18-0. The kids continue to surprise me. I didn't see that one coming. Our spacing of the floor, our execution and our defense in the first half was outstanding.
"To do it against the schedule they have done it against makes this really special. The kids have continued to go about their business and continued to work hard."
Teaira McCowan led the offensive attack with a career-high 25 points. McCowan hit her first 12 shots from the field. Victoria Vivians added 21 points, with the duo going a combined 19 of 32 from the field.
Chinwe Okorie also added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Okorie and McCowan combined to go 17 of 20 from the floor.
Guards Morgan William and Jazzmun Holmes combined for 10 assists and two turnovers, and Vivians had four of her team's 10 steals, giving her 4.0 spg her last five games.
The 14-0 run was capped by back-to-back baskets from Okorie and Vivians. A layup by McCowan ran out the first quarter with the Bulldogs leading 24-9.
A 3-pointer by William ran the lead to 17 points at 33-16 with 6:11 left in the half. Blair Schaefer also added a triple that sparked a half-ending 15-4 run to give the Maroon and White a 48-22 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs' tenacious defense continued to wear on the Gators in the second half. Florida only dressed eight players and had two foul out.
A 13-1 run pushed the lead to 63-28 late in the third quarter. The lead then grew to the game's largest at 36 points a few possessions later.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 32 of 59 shots from the field (46.4 percent), 5 of 21 shots from 3-point range (23.8 percent) and 13 of 17 shots from the foul line (76.5 percent). The Gators hit 16 of 41 shots from the field (39.0 percent), 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range (50.0 percent) and 13 of 19 shots from the foul line (68.4 percent).
MSU held a 36-31 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 22 assists and 10 turnovers, while the Gators had nine assists and 27 turnovers.
Florida (9-8, 0-4) received 17 points from Delicia Washington and 11 points from Ronni Williams. Tyshara Fleming and Washington each had six rebounds to lead the Gators.
MSU remains home for a 6 p.m. start against in-state rival Ole Miss. The Bulldog and Rebels play nationally on the SEC Network.
Team Stats
UF
MS
FG%
.390
.464
3FG%
.500
.238
FT%
.684
.765
RB
31
36
TO
27
10
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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