MSU overcomes sluggish start to down Southern

Bulldogs use big second quarter to surge to win

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Only four days passed between No. 13 Mississippi State's 3-point barrage against Troy and Friday's tilt against Southern University. Over those 96 hours, the Bulldogs lost some of their hot shooting touch.

After filling up the basket with a school record 18 treys against the Trojans, the Bulldogs were struggling mightily offensively in the early going against the Jaguars Friday. But it's not how you start, it's how you finish and MSU certainly finished strong, eventually cruising to a 79-55 win.

"In the first quarter, we weren't hitting shots," junior forward Jessika Carter said. "I feel like in the second quarter, we just got more comfortable and were hitting shots."

Carter was a reliable presence for State all night long even when things weren't going so well. MSU shot just 37 percent as a team over the first 10 minutes, but Carter was 3-for-5 from the field and scored six points in that time. She finished with her second double-double of the season, tallying 17 points and bringing down 11 rebounds.

Carter's production was a calm in the midst of the early storm the Bulldogs experienced.

"Jess has been really good for us," guard Myah Taylor said of Carter. "She's maturing a lot. She's a very wonderful player. She's a big presence on our team and when she's calm and she's getting those easy buckets, it's a calming effect for the team."

Pretty soon after the first quarter, the Bulldogs followed Carter's lead. MSU (4-1) led Southern (0-5) by only three points, 16-13, entering the second period. State then took control, outscoring the Jaguars 28-14 over the 10 minutes prior to halftime. MSU rolled from there.

Three other Bulldogs, along with Carter, scored in double-figures for the night. Rickea Jackson had 15 points. Aliyah Matharu scored 11 while Taylor tallied 10. Mississippi State shot nearly 60 percent as a team over the final three quarters and Southern had no response. Most of MSU's offense came on the inside as State scored 62 of its 79 points from the paint, pleasing head coach Nikki McCray-Penson.

"You talk about our identity, we want to go inside out," McCray-Penson said. "Through post touches and through drives, we want to do that."

The Bulldogs were also stout defensively. The Jaguars were held to only 32 percent shooting for the game and MSU also won the rebounding battle 43-32.

Yes, in the end, all was well that ended well for the Bulldogs. But the rough first few minutes were a reminder MSU has plenty of work left to do to get to where it wants to ultimately go.

"We're just trying to get better every game," McCray-Penson said. "We got off to a slow start. We don't want to start slow. We know we cannot start slow, especially going into SEC play on the road. We've got to be ready to start games better."

The Bulldogs get one more non-conference affair before league play cranks up. MSU hosts Central Arkansas on Sunday at 3 p.m., then 10 days later, State heads to Georgia to open the SEC slate.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES

MSU head coach Nikki McCray-Penson

MSU forward Jessika Carter

MSU guard Myah Taylor

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