Unbeaten Bulldogs upend South Carolina
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Victoria Vivians had never beaten South Carolina during her stellar career at Mississippi State.
In front of the first sellout crowd in women's basketball history, Vivians scored 20 of her 24 points in the first half to help No. 2 Mississippi State beat seventh-ranked South Carolina 67-53 on Monday night.
The Bulldogs (24-0, 10-0 SEC) had lost 11 straight to the Gamecocks, including a defeat in the national championship game last season.
The rematch of that April game brought 10,794 fans to Humphrey Coliseum with the game sold out two weeks in advance. Student tickets were exhausted within eight minutes of them being offered earlier in the week.
"Our crowd was awesome," Blair Schaefer said. "Having people drive from other states to watch us play is a really great feeling. It got as loud as we thought it would; even louder. When (Vic Schaefer) came to Starkville, this is what he wanted to create."
The Gamecocks (18-5, 7-3) got off to a strong start and led 20-10 before the Bulldogs rallied behind Vivians.
A 13-0 run to begin the fourth quarter was the difference in the game as the Bulldogs turned a five-point third quarter deficit into a lead they wouldn't lose. Blair Schaefer hit two big 3-pointers during that stretch to help flip the game in the Bulldogs' favor.
Mississippi State had 14 points from Blair Schaefer to go along with Vivians' big night. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Gamecocks 40-36 and forced them into 17 turnovers.
"I think we are tough because I know how hard we practice," Vic Schaefer said. "We regrouped in the huddle at the end of the (first quarter) and did some great things executing.
Star center Teaira McCowan had two points in three quarters and finished with nine for the game. She did add a career-high 20 rebounds. Keeping her out of the paint was South Carolina's game plan.
"We understand that (McCowan) is very effective when she does things well on the floor," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "We want to make it more difficult on her scoring deep in the paint. She did a good job getting put-backs."
South Carolina (18-5, 7-3) started the game up 20-10 after one quarter holding the Bulldogs to just 4-of-16 from the field. The second quarter belonged to the Bulldogs who inserted freshman forward Chloe Bibby to guard A'ja Wilson. South Carolina scored eight points in the quarter and the Bulldogs had a 13-2 run that helped them out to a 29-28 halftime advantage.
The Gamecocks had 25 points and 14 rebounds from A'ja Wilson, but she managed just seven points in the second half. Doniyah Cliney also managed double figures with 10 points.
No. 6 TEXAS 73, WEST VIRGINIA 55
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Jatarie White had 18 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season to lead Texas over West Virginia.
The Longhorns (19-4, 10-2 Big 12) opened up the game on a 7-0 run, but WVU clawed back into the game thanks to five first quarter 3-pointers.
Texas responded by outscoring the Mountaineers 19-7 in the second quarter to have a 37-26 lead at the half.
Both teams would trade scores throughout the first 15 minutes of the second half. West Virginia (17-7, 5-7) cut the lead to seven with 5:16 left in the third quarter, but couldn't get closer.
The Longhorns would finish the game on an 11-1 run to complete the regular season sweep of WVU.
Naomi Davenport led the Mountaineers with 14 points.
No. 15 MISSOURI 66, FLORIDA 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Cierra Porter scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help No. 15 Missouri hold off Florida 66-64 on Monday night.
Sophie Cunningham, averaging 18.4 points per game, scored her final points of the game, 10, on a baseline jumper to extend Missouri's lead to 64-59.
Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:01 remaining to pull to 66-64. Missouri took some time off the clock after a defensive foul but Florida deflected the ball out of bounds off Cunningham's knee at 12.1. The Gators' offense stalled near the 3-point arc and Haley Lorenzen didn't hit the rim on a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Jordan Frericks scored 12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter for Missouri (185, 6-4 Southeastern Conference). Porter scored 21 of Missouri's 32 first-half points as she was 8 of 12 from the field and the rest of the team was just 5-of-19 shooting.
Delicia Washington led Florida (10-13, 2-8) with 23 points.