Video: No. 5 Hailstate Hoops Rings in SEC Play with Win

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State junior Victoria Vivians posted her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs opened the SEC slate with a 74-48 win against LSU on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum.

A crowd of 5,849 helped ring in the New Year with a victory in the conference opener. MSU has won three of five conference openers under Vic Schaefer, including two straight. It was the MSU’s largest margin of victory in the series and the second-biggest win in an SEC opener by a Bulldog squad.

The victory makes Mississippi State 15-0 to start the season for the second in three seasons.

“I have to say I didn’t see that coming because LSU is really good,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. “We haven’t been a really good practice team the last couple of days. In back-to-back games, Victoria has been dialed in on both ends of the floor. That is how an all-American should play.

“On the defensive end, you can tell this means something to her. Our team plays with a sense of calmness when Victoria has things going.”

The Bulldogs were stellar on both ends of the floor, shooting 57.1 percent from the field while holding LSU to 34 percent. Sunday was State’s best shooting performance in an SEC game since a 59 percent effort against Kentucky on Feb. 16, 2003.

Chinwe Okorie joined Vivians in double figures with 17 points. Morgan William tied her personal SEC best with seven assists, and she also recorded four steals to go with three for Vivians.

The Bulldogs were dominant inside, with strong play from Okorie and Teaira McCowan. MSU finished with a plus-eight rebounding advantage. Okorie was 8 of 10 from the floor, while McCowan had five rebounds in 13 minutes of play.

Vivians claimed her third-straight game with 20 points, while her 12 boards were her best in an SEC contest. The Carthage, Miss., native has scored at a 23.3 clip her last four games.

“Mainly, I was focusing on rebounding,” Vivians said. “Coach has been on me about being more aggressive on the defensive end. I really focused on the rebounding and being more aggressive. After that, the offense was able to come.”

After missing their first five shots from the floor, the Bulldogs erased an early 4-1 deficit with an 11-2 run. A jumper by Vivians got the crowd going and ran the Bulldogs’ lead to 12-6. The Bulldogs rallied from the slow start to shoot 53.8 percent from the floor (7 of 13) and take a 19-10 lead in the opening quarter.

State continued to turn up the defensive pressure, holding LSU to four field goals in the second quarter. A layup by Ketara Chapel gave the Bulldogs a 23-10 lead, and a jumper by Vivians capped an 8-1 run and extended the lead to 33-15 with 2:06 left in the half.

The Bulldogs led 37-19 at halftime.

In the second half, an 8-0 run pushed the lead to 49-25. A putback by Dominique Dillingham capped that run. The lead grew to as many as 32 in the closing minutes.

For the contest, the Bulldogs finished 28 of 49 from the field (57.1 percent), 5 of 13 from 3-point range (38.5 percent) and 13 of 20 from the foul line (65.0 percent). The Tigers hit 18 of 53 shots from the field (34.0 percent), 0 of 4 shots from 3-point range (0.0 percent) and 12 of 21 shots from the foul line (57.1 percent).

MSU held a 36-28 rebounding average. The Bulldogs had 18 assists and 19 turnovers, while the Tigers had six assists and 20 turnovers.

LSU (11-3) received 14 points from Chloe Jackson and 12 points from Raigyne Moncreif added 12 points.

MSU is back in action Thursday with a 7 p.m. start at Arkansas. That contest will be available on SEC Network +.