State gets second half boost, strong defensive effort in 69-44 win over Chattanooga
It was an ice-cold start to the ball game for Mississippi State in the first half and coach Sam Purcell needed to give his team a lift.
With State clinging to a 29-24 lead at the break, Purcell's message actually came from junior Debreasha Powe and it sparked the Bulldogs to a 69-44 victory.
"We came to the locker room, and she asked us what we were seeing and what we needed to fix," Eniya Russell said of Powe's halftime message. "We fed off of that and coach Sam picked up where she left off."
The win avenged a loss from last season against the Mocs as Chattanooga knocked off State 59-53 and went on to win 26 games and go to the NCAA Tournament.
Total team effort for Bulldogs in winRussell came out and led the way again for the Bulldogs with her 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She added seven rebounds and four assists as well.
Madina Okot finished with 12 points and six rebounds, Jerkaila Jordan also notched 12 points and had a team-high eight rebounds and Denim Deshields hit double digits with 10 points and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
"What a great team win," Purcell said. "Opening night was unbelievable with 100 points and there's a reality that you're not getting 100 every night. I have a ton of respect for UTC because that's a program that understands how to win. Credit to my young women for being the tougher team for four quarters."
After scoring just 13 points in the second quarter, the Bulldogs had a 16-0 spurt out of the locker room in the first 5 minutes to build a 21-point lead that wouldn't diminish.
State outscored the Mocs 22-7 in the third quarter and tacked on another five points to the lead in the fourth on the way to convincing win.
The Bulldogs held its fourth-straight opponent to under 30% to start the season as Chattanooga shot just 27% (16-of-59) and made just 24% of 3-pointers (7-of-29). State also forced 19 turnovers and scored 19 points off of those.
"That's something we emphasize in practice is defense. That's where we get our offense going," Jordan said. "As you can see, that was the turning point in the game."
For the Bulldogs on offense, it was a struggle at times. State held the Mocs without a point for over 8 minutes in the first half but couldn't turn it into points on the other end.
MSU was much better in the second half, however, as the Bulldogs finished the game shooting 42% from the field (23-of-55). State's 3-point shooting struggled as the Bulldogs were just 3-of-17, but the Bulldogs set a school record with a 19-of-19 start from the free throw line and finished having hit 20-of-21.
After losing the rebounding battle in the first half, State managed to overtake Chattanooga in the second half and had a 40-37 edge. Offensive boards were an issue for the Bulldogs though as the Mocs pulled down 17 of those and scored 21 second-chance points.
Up NextWith another win under their belt, the Bulldogs (4-0) will close out this five-game homestand on Wednesday night. State hosts Mercer at Humphrey Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. before taking off on the road for a eight-game stretch away from the friendly confines.
