MSU starts SEC strong with victory

For Starkville Daily News

ATHENS, Ga. – The fifth-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs dialed long distance for a convincing 86-62 win over Georgia in the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball opener for both teams played Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.

MSU (15-0) won its fourth-straight conference opener, while recording its largest margin of victory ever in Athens in the program’s fourth victory there. It was the first 20-plus point win over Georgia since 1978. MSU won on that floor for the first time since 2002.

“Really proud of my basketball team,” State head coach Vic Schaefer said. “To play the way we played both ends of the floor, I couldn’t be prouder. In my 21 trips here (at three combined schools), I had never won here, so it feels good to walk off that floor with a victory. Proud of our kids. We executed offensively in the third quarter.

“In the first half, we were decent. We shared the ball and got good looks. We got a bunch of good looks and I thought the kids really responded.”

Teaira McCowan notched her 21st career double-double to help lead MSU. McCowan had 26 points and 13 rebounds. Victoria Vivians added 20 points, while Roshunda Johnson added 16 points.

After missing its first seven 3-point shot attempts, the Magnolia State Bulldogs rallied to hit 11 of the final 22 – the second-most makes in a game this season. Overall, MSU shot 49.2 percent from the field while topping the 75-point mark for the ninth-straight game.

State took the lead for good on a layup by McCowan in the closing seconds of the first quarter for a 16-14 lead. Schaefer’s Bulldogs then scored the first five points of the second quarter to stretch the lead to 21-14.

A 6-0 run was capped by a 3-pointer from Johnson for a 27-16 lead. The lead grew to as many as 14 before MSU settled for a 37-27 halftime lead.

Johnson later hit back-to-back 3-pointers as a 10-0 run

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