No. 6 Mississippi State overpowers Little Rock 86-48

Dec 11, 2017, 12:02 am

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Accomplishments have been aplenty for Mississippi State point guard Morgan William.

Fresh off of her winning shot against No. 1 UConn in the Final Four, William walked across the stage at Humphrey Coliseum on Friday and graduated.

William was back on the court Sunday to help the Bulldogs rout Little Rock 86-48. The senior scored a season-high 16 points.

"Coach Schaefer has talked about me being more offensive. I've been trying to score when I'm open because it's disrespectful not to guard me," William said. "The first couple of games I was content in passing the ball but now I'm looking to do both. If they leave me open I have to knock down shots."

Teaira McCowan added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Victoria Vivians had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs (9-0) have won 31 straight regular-season nonconference games and 30 nonconference home games in a row.

Monique Townson and Kyra Collier each had 11 points for Little Rock (3-6), and Teal Battle added 10.

Mississippi State outscored Little Rock 25-2 in the third quarter, holding the Trojans without a field goal for the final 9 minutes.

That came after the Bulldogs held a comfortable 43-28 lead but Schaefer wasn't satisfied. He had a message for his team that didn't involve X's and O's.

"I didn't draw anything on the board. Everything I talked about had to do with their heart," Schaefer said. "When you hold somebody to two points in the third quarter, that's how it's supposed to be. I was really proud of how my kids played in the third quarter."

The second half belonged to Mississippi State as they would run out to as much as a 42-point lead and cleared the bench to allow 12 difference players to get on the floor with 11 of them hitting the scoring column.

The Trojans (3-6) were overmatched in every area of the game, being outrebounded 44-28 and turning the ball over 20 times. Mississippi State turned that into 25 points and had 50 points in the paint.

UP NEXT

Little Rock: At Kansas State on Saturday.

Mississippi State: Hosts No. 9 Oregon on Wednesday night.