MSU Women’s Basketball Team Defeats Ole Miss

STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State sent its quartet of seniors out on a high note Sunday afternoon.

Before a school-record crowd of 7,326, No. 11 MSU erased an early seven-point deficit to post a 55-47 win over arch-rival Ole Miss in a Southeastern Conference contest played at the Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU wrapped the regular season 26-5 overall and 11-5 in league play, both program records for victories.

The Bulldogs clinched the third seed in this week’s SEC Tournament, matching the 2009-10 squad for the highest finish in program history. MSU will play at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT Friday at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark.

Ole Miss dropped to 17-12 and 7-9 as it saw a three-game win streak snapped. The Bulldogs swept the Rebels in the season series for the first time since 2011-12.

Sunday’s record crowd helped MSU finish with a new school record in attendance as 67,598 packed Humphrey Coliseum for 18 home dates. The Bulldogs drew eight of the 10 largest crowds in school history this season. MSU finished the year 17-1 at home with the lone loss being a double-overtime loss to LSU.

“It was a tremendous day for us and for women’s basketball,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. “I am so proud of the seniors. To be able to send them out with a win before the largest crowd in school history is special. To win 26 games in a regular season is an achievement. It takes a special team.

“Ole Miss came in here playing really well. You knew they would keep punching. They played with no fear. We knew it would be a dogfight and a battle. We settled in and were able to deal with them defensively after the start.”

Jerica James, Martha Alwal, Kendra Grant and Savannah Carter played their final home games wearing the Maroon and White Sunday. All four drew starts. Alwal scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and three steals.

Victoria Vivians led the offensive attack with 17 points while adding six rebounds. While Vivians hit 4 of 10 shots from the field, her stat line was bolstered by an 8 of 10 night at the free throw line.

“We literally started at the bottom,” Alwal said. “There were games where they were a couple of hundred people here. You had to get yourself going. The crowds have grown and been really huge. They have been supportive and they have really helped us win.”

Ole Miss scored the game’s first seven points. MSU worked through the early Senior Day emotions to score 3-point baskets from Morgan William, Vivians and Dominique Dillingham to tie the game 9-9.

Vivians scored a jumper to put the Bulldogs on top for the first time at 11-9. Ole Miss would force two more ties before an 11-0 run extended the MSU lead to 26-15 with 46 seconds left in the half.

After the fast start, Ole Miss was held to two field goals over the final 15:16 of the half as State built a 28-16 halftime lead.

In a contest matching two of the league’s best defensive teams, the defenses held the upper hand as each team shot 32.1 percent or below from the field in the first half.

The Bulldogs built the lead to 12 at 35-23 with 16:23 left on a 3-pointer by James. Still, the home team could never find the separation needed to put the game away until a 6-0 run made it 45-31 MSU with 8:07 left.

“I’m awfully proud of these kids,” Schaefer said. “I know how hard we have had to work to be in this position. South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi State (as the top three) is special. Still, we haven’t played our best basketball yet. We finished third in the biggest, baddest conference.”

For the contest, MSU hit 15 of 47 shots from the field (31.9 percent), 4 of 11 shots from 3-point range (36.4 percent) and 21 of 25 shots from the foul line (84.0 percent). Ole Miss hit 16 of 46 shots from the field (34.8 percent), 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range (60.0 percent) and 12 of 20 shots from the foul line (60.0 percent).

MSU held a 39-29 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had nine assists and 22 turnovers, while the Rebels had four assists and 21 turnovers.

Ole Miss received 11 points apiece from Gracie Frizzell and Tia Faleru. Faleru posted a double-double as she also garnered a team-high 10 rebounds.