BANGOR, Maine- The #10 Mississippi State Womens basketball team broke out to an early 15 point lead Saturday night, and cruised to an 87-43 win over Maine in the Tip-Off Tournament championship game at the Cross Insurance Center before a crowd of 2,182. The loss also breaks the 20 game home winning streak for the Bears.
Maine (1-1) turned the ball over 10 times in the opening quarter, 18 times in the first half, and 26 times in the game in falling to the Bulldogs. “I think first of all we see why Mississippi State is ranked 10th in the country. They are very well coached. I think they have a style and system that is very hard to play against and they certainly imposed their will on us. There were moments where we played extremely well. There was about a 10 minute stretch where we were down 15-0 and we come back to cut it to 25-20. That was the moment where I saw what I envisioned this team being. So for that 10 minutes we had dominated and outscored the #10 in the country by doubling them up and saw a little bit of what we can be. After the game we talked about how we can take that 10 minutes and turn it into 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40. So that’s what we are gonna take away from it”, said Maine Head Coach Richard Barron.
Maine didn’t score a basket until Tanesha Sutton broke the ice 4:35 into the contest to break the early 15-0 run. Maine went on an 8-2 run early in the second quarter to cut the lead to 25-20, but Mississippi State (2-0) ended the first half on a 21-3 run to take a 23 point halftime lead. All-Conference and the top returning SEC scorer, 6-1″ guard Victoria Vivians, scored 15 of those 21 during the Bulldogs run and had 26 points in the first half that included 9-19 shooting overall, 4-11 from the three point arc, and 4-4 from the foul line. Vivians played only nine minutes in the second half. “I knew I had alot of legs cause I didn’t play alot yesterday. So just being fresh and playing a good team had me energized and ready to play today”, said Vivians. Vivians was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Along with the 26 from Vivians, Mississippi State got 14 points from Roshunda Johnson, eight from 6-7″ center Teaira McCowan, and seven a piece from Dominique Dillingham and Morgan William. William also dished out nine assists and had five steals. The Bulldogs had 13 steals on the night. “I think Maine is really good and they gonna have a heck of a year, obviously very young, but very talented. Richard (Barron) is a heck of a coach. That was a great win for them last night. I think we are quick and athletic and our press can really wear people down and that was the difference tonight”, said Mississippi State Head Coach Vic Schaefer.
Maine got eight points a piece from Laia Sole and Naira Caceres. Sigi Koizar and Julie Brousseau had seven a piece. “Overall they are just really athletic. They played really well together with penetrating and kicking. They did a good job of not making the mistakes we made, and they took care of the ball. And they were knocking down open shots too, which made it hard to guard”, said Koizar. Sole added, “I wasn’t afraid, I knew they were taller and stronger. But I knew if we all box out it and work together it would be easier for our post players. It is hard to guard these kind of players. But I wasn’t afraid. I knew they were good but personally I think we are good too”. Sole and Koizar were also named to the All-Tournament team.
Both teams continue non-conference action as Maine hits the road to battle Harvard Tuesday night at 6 p.m. while Mississippi State returns home to Starkville to host Tulane Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
MSU 21 25 17 24- 87
UME 12 11 7 13- 43
Field goals- MSU 32-61 52.5% Maine 17-45 37.8%
3 pt goals- MSU 11-21 Maine 2-12
Free throws- MSU 12-15 Maine 7-10
Turnovers- MSU 15 Maine 26
Points off turnovers- MSU 37 Maine 17
