Video: No. 10 MSU Rolls Past Arkansas-Fort Smith in Exhibition Opener

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – No. 10 Mississippi State overcame a tough night from the field to post an 88-62 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith in an exhibition women’s basketball game played Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

“Overall, we didn’t shoot the ball well,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. “We were not very emotional. We weren’t communicating a lot. The gym was dead and there was not a lot of emotion. That is when your seniors have to step up. We had too many turnovers, too.”

MSU shot 38 percent from the field, including a 3-of-20 night from 3-point range. With shots not dropping, the Bulldogs turned to their defense, forcing 31 turnovers and claiming a plus-17 rebounding advantage.

“We have to go harder,” MSU junior guard Morgan William said. “You have to go hard every time. When your jump shot isn’t falling, you have to keep attacking. We didn’t do that tonight. We didn’t do a good job of attacking.”

Chinwe Okorie led MSU with 17 points. Preseason second team All-SEC selection Morgan William added 15 points and first team All-SEC member Victoria Vivians added 10 points.

The Bulldogs started out strong defensively as the Lady Lions were held better than six minutes without scoring. MSU built a 16-0 lead after a jumper by Brenna Richardson.

UAFS used a 7-0 run to pull within 20-11. The Bulldogs ended the quarter with a 22-13 advantage.

The inside play of Okorie helped spark a 7-0 run as the Bulldogs opened up a 34-15 lead midway through the second quarter. The Bulldogs would miss six of their final seven shots in the half but led 40-25 at the break.

“We just didn’t have a very good night offensively,” Schaefer said. “I’m disappointed in how we attacked offensively after playing so well against UCLA (in a scrimmage earlier in the week). We just didn’t have the energy level that you need to have on every night.”

The Bulldogs maintained their comfortable lead in the second half, pushing the advantage to 67-41 on a Vivians layup in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 35 of 92 shots from the field (38.0 percent), 3 of 20 shots from 3-point range (15.0 percent) and 15 of 19 shots from the foul line (78.9 percent). The Lady Lions hit 24 of 55 shots from the field (43.6 percent), 10 of 24 shots from 3-point range (41.7 percent) and 4 of 13 shots from the foul line (30.8 percent).

MSU held a 55-38 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 15 assists and 13 turnovers, while the Lady Lions had 17 assists and 31 turnovers.

Arkansas-Fort Smith, an NCAA Division II member coached by former MSU assistant Elena Lovato, received 16 points from Sydney Franklin, 12 points from Zhanesha Dickerson, 11 points from Olivia Hanson and 10 points from Tayla Taylor.

MSU opens the regular season Nov. 11 with a 6:30 p.m. CT start against Villanova in the Maine Tipoff Tournament.

The Bulldogs open the home slate Nov. 20 with a showdown against a Top-10 Texas squad. That contest is set for a 5 p.m. tip on the SEC Network.