Vivians helps No. 9 Mississippi State rout Tennessee State
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Victoria Vivians had 22 points and seven rebounds and No. 9 Mississippi State beat Tennessee State 82-54 on Sunday.
Breanna Richardson added 14 points and eight rebounds, and Chinwe Okorie had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs (6-1). I'mani Davis scored 14 points for Tennessee State (4-4).
Tied at 42 in the third quarter, Mississippi State had an 18-2 run to pull ahead. Vivians who had 17 points in the final two quarters.
''We did not play well,'' Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. ''We didn't play with any energy or any effort. We are not a very well coached team right now in the talking department. I'm not doing a really good job convincing (the players) that's important.
''There's no room on our team for people that don't play hard,'' Schaefer said. ''I'm disappointed. It's my responsibility and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.''
The Bulldogs had 14 of their 23 turnovers in the first half.
''I don't think we played hard,'' Richardson said. ''Coach got into us at halftime and I think we stepped it up enough to get the victory, but I still think we didn't play hard enough. It was just an ugly win.''
Tennessee State shot 37 percent and was 2 of 17 from 3-point range.
TIP-INS:
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs held the Tigers to 15-percent shooting in the third quarter. Tennessee State made only two baskets in those 10 minutes.
Tennessee State: Three Tigers fouled out.
WHAT'S NEXT:
Mississippi State: At Louisiana Tech next Sunday.
Tennessee State: Hosts Lipscomb next Sunday.
