Offense key to Mississippi St-DePaul matchup (Mar 18, 2017)
Both Mississippi State and DePaul found plenty of offense in first-round wins on Friday. The question when the two teams meet in Sunday's second-round matchup will be who can find some more scoring punch.
Tanita Allen came off the bench and scored 25 points as DePaul rolled to an 88-69 victory over Northern Iowa. Mississippi State shook up its starting lineup and got production from many as five players finished in double figures in a 110-69 rout of Troy.
The two teams play on Sunday, and the offense will be the big question. Mississippi State blew open Friday's game with a 29-point second quarter even though coach Vic Schaefer tinkered with his starting lineup a bit.
He changed up, sitting four of his starters -- but being careful not to say why -- and the experiment worked. His daughter, Blair, led the way with 21 points, as the Bulldogs could not be stopped on offense.
"I was extremely proud of how our kids played together," Schaefer said in the Montgomery Advertiser. "Everybody played well together and moved the ball efficiently."
The Bulldogs (30-4) made 12 3-pointers, something Troy just could not stop.
Ameshya Williams added 15 for second-seeded Mississippi State. She made all five of her free throws.
The Bulldogs moved the ball around well, ending up with 22 assists on 36 baskets. As the No. 2 seed, this is the highest the program ever has been in the tournament.
DePaul, the seventh seed, also found offense from a bit of an unusual source. Allen is used to coming off the bench. She was named the Big East Sixth Woman of the Year during the season and made her first six shots, five being 3-pointers.
Overall, she made nine of 11 shots.
DePaul coach Doug Bruno said that everyone on the team has the proverbial "green light" to shoot, and everything worked well for the Blue Demons in this game.
"We try to instill in our girls all season long that the NCAA Tournament is a big deal to make, but it is just doing what you do every single day," he told reporters. "You get to the tournament, then you work to win every possession, and the game will take care of itself. I thought our girls were ready to play today."
Bruno especially liked the play of Allen, whose hot shooting really went a long way in helping DePaul.
"She is capable of this type game," Bruno said. "She is a really, really quality shooter. She was just ready to let it rip."
DePaul (27-7) now is into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in its program's history.
Brooke Schulte and Lauren Prochaska both added 12 points in the victory.
