BATON ROUGE, La. – Shanice Norton tied her career-high with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting to lead a trio of Lady Tigers in double figures, but the LSU women’s basketball team was unable to keep pace with the 11th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs in falling 71-52 Thursday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU was able to cut into the deficit late, scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter alone which was the most for either team on the night. The point total in the quarter tied the high for the group on the season in the fourth, however, the Bulldogs shot 49 percent from the field and made 28 shots to LSU’s 19 and 40 percent clip on the night.
Along with Norton, Akilah Bethel and Rina Hill each chipped in 10 points in the game, with Bethel going 6-of-8 from the line and tying Alexis Hyder for the team lead in rebounds with six, while Hill had two rebounds and two assists. Hyder scored eight and connected on the team’s only 3-pointer of the night, but was plagued with foul trouble with four fouls.
“Mississippi State did a really nice job of executing their game plan,” said LSU head coach Nikki Fargas. “I know in the first quarter we were able to come out and really show that we could play with one of the best teams in the country, but it’s a 40-minute game and that level of intensity and focus has to be maintained for the entire game.
“I felt as though we didn’t have the same fire and fight about us,” added Fargas. “Since the UConn game, this is the only team that we have given 71 points to. Our defensive scheme and how we’ve rebounded the basketball up until this point was really what we hung our hat on and tonight we did not excel in that area.”
The 71 points scored by Mississippi State was the most given up by the Lady Tigers in a conference game this season, as the Bulldogs were led by Victoria Vivians who scored 14 and grabbed nine rebounds. It was just the second time that MSU has defeated LSU in the PMAC in the last 25 tries, as it also snapped a nine-game winning streak over the visitors coming into the game.
The score was tied 10-10 after the first quarter, but the Lady Tigers went cold and scored just one point in four and a half minutes of the second period. During that time, MSU used a 9-0 run to pull ahead and ultimately took a 30-16 lead into the locker room at the half. In the first half, the Bulldogs had nine of their 12 players who saw action score, while the Lady Tigers, again down to seven scholarship players, utilized just six players. Norton led LSU in the first half with seven of her 15 points.
Norton hit a jumper to give the Lady Tigers a spark, trailing by 12 to begin the third quarter. The Bulldogs, however, did not let up, earning two baskets from Ketara Chapel, one from Morgan William and free throws from Dominique Dillingham and Chinwe Okorie to take a 40-21 lead. With less than five minutes to play in the quarter, Hill added two points and Norton converted on a three-point play opportunity to cut the Lady Tigers’ deficit to 14. Mississippi State responded with an 8-0 run to end the quarter, leading 49-26.
In the fourth quarter alone, LSU shot 64 percent and eventually ended the second half shooting 52 percent from the floor, hitting 9-of-14 shots, while going 7-of-8 from the line. Overall, LSU was 13-of-17 from the charity stripe, making 11 of those in the second half alone.
Mississippi State finished the game with 35 rebounds to LSU’s 26, as the Bulldogs finished with 16 offensive rebounds that turned into 25 second-chance points. Although the Lady Tigers had three more turnovers than MSU in the game, each team was able to turn those miscues into 10 points.
The depth of the Bulldogs also aided the opponents’ cause, as the Mississippi State bench outscored LSU’s 22-5. MSU held the lead for just over 29 minutes, while LSU had the lead for four minutes, which all came in the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers close out their busy week of three games in seven days when they travel to Lexington to face Kentucky on Sunday at 11 am CT at Memorial Coliseum. The game will be carried by SEC Network. LSU’s next home game will be the Gold Game on Feb. 14 against Georgia. Fans wearing gold to the game will receive a general admission ticket to the game for just $2, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a gold Women’s Basketball t-shirt.
POST-GAME QUOTES
MSU Head Coach Vic Schaefer
Opening Statement..
“I thought we might have the 52 tonight, to be honest with you. They played that zone so well. Those kids play harder than anybody in our league. Nikki’s (Fargas) holding them together and doing a tremendous job, and you have to give her kids so much credit on how hard they play and their competitive spirit, their toughness—all of that. For us to score 72 points against them, I certainly didn’t see that coming. I give my kids a lot of credit for execution, making shots. I thought Morgan (William) did a great job of running our team tonight. When I can get three kids in double figures and close to four, we’ve got a chance. Defensively, I was pleased with three quarters. The fourth quarter was not bad—26 points. Obviously we did a good job in that second quarter, and then in the third quarter, holding them to six then ten. So, I’m proud of our effort. This was really a complete game effort for us. Again, really concerned coming down here. A lot of respect for Nikki and her staff and the job they do, how hard those kids play. They’re obviously very banged up right now, but hey, they’ve been playing everybody down to the wire. So, a lot of respect for them. And again, I really feel blessed that we were able to come in here and play like we did and get the win.”
On overcoming the slow start…
“I thought it was our execution offensively and making shots. We just made shots, and you have to make shots with people zoning you. We didn’t make shots at Georgia, and they beat us. But you have to move the basketball, and you have to attack and take up two, and that’s going to leave somebody open. And when you get an open 10 or 12-15 footer in this league, you better make it because you don’t get many. An opening in this league is this much [holds hands up]. It isn’t between you and me. So you have to be able to step up and make shots. So, I was really proud tonight. We got an open look. We knocked down those open looks. So, it’s been a real focus of ours. I’m really proud of our kids for getting in the gym and working a little bit on their shooting. So, I thought that was the difference in the second quarter. Then in the third quarter, I thought we had some really good defensive stops and some run-outs. We got some steals. We executed some stuff early in the fourth quarter. We executed an inbounds play. She [Victoria Vivians] missed it, then came back around and set for us. She made back-to-back threes and got us some breathing room.”
LSU Head Coach Nikki Fargas
Opening Statement …
“Mississippi State did a really nice job of executing their game plan. I know in the first quarter we were able to come out and really show that we could play with one of the best teams in the country, but it’s a 40-minute game and that level of intensity and focus has to be maintained for the entire game. I felt as though we didn’t have the same fire and fight about us. Since the UConn game, this is the only team that we have given 71 points to. Our defensive scheme and how we’ve rebounded the basketball up until this point was really what we hung our hat on and tonight we did not excel in that area.”
On scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter …
“I think at the point of the fourth quarter when the score, we had 36 points to their 59, and I think there was a different sense of urgency but also the substitution of Mississippi State had changed. They understand the schedule and the team that they are playing on Sunday (Missouri). They understand the recovery they needed, and so when they went to their bench they were able to maintain and still have the depth to bring people in in the fourth quarter. Offensively we did do a much better job. We were able to shoot the ball a lot better. Like Rina Hill said, there was a lot more aggressive play but at that point you’re playing with ‘nothing on my shoulders type deal’ when that lead was what it was.”
On Kentucky …
“I’ve been able to watch a lot of basketball. Kentucky has some tough post players on the inside. We have another battle on our hands on the inside. Obviously Makayla Epps has done a great job being that go-to player. I know they just lost to South Carolina, at South Carolina, only by 10. They are on a three-game losing streak so I know they are going to be very hungry for a win and they’re at home. We are going to have to really have tomorrow off as a recovery day, so we are going to have to be mentally and physically focused for 40 minutes on Sunday.”
LSU Guard Rina Hill
On the team scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter…
“We were aggressive. We had to be aggressive because we were down by so much.”
LSU Guard Shanice Norton
On scoring a career-tying 15 points…
“I think I was just executing on what coach wanted me to do. Using my team to get open and just playing with my team.”