Feb. 15, 2018
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
Nashville, Tenn. – Second-ranked Mississippi State was too much for a young Vanderbilt squad on Thursday night.
The undefeated Bulldogs controlled the game from start to finish, topping the Commodores 95-50 at Memorial Gymnasium.
Here’s how it went down:
THE SKINNY: Mississippi State jumped out to a 26-11 advantage after the first quarter, hitting eight of its final 10 shots in the period. Despite 12 first-half points from Christa Reed, the lead grew to 50-26 at halftime thanks to eight total 3-pointers from the Bulldogs in the first half. Vanderbilt was unable to cut into its deficit the rest of the way.
TURNING POINT: Leading 20-11 late in the first, Mississippi State closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead by 15 heading into the second period. The Bulldogs carried that momentum into the rest of the half and didn’t look back.
IMPACT PLAYER: Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan. The 6-7 forward tallied 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds against Vanderbilt and helped her team improve to 27-0 on the season.
STARTLING STAT: 34 – Mississippi State’s total rebounds. The Bulldogs won the rebounding margin 34-20, holding a 17-5 edge in offensive boards.
WHAT IT MEANS: Vanderbilt drops to 6-21 overall and 2-11 in SEC play. No. 2 Mississippi State moves to 27-0 and 13-0 in SEC and remains one of just two undefeated teams in college basketball.
WHAT’S NEXT: Vanderbilt travels to Gainesville on Sunday to take on Florida. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.