Vivians, William lead No. 5 Mississippi State women past USC (Dec 18, 2016)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Mississippi State remained undefeated with its 12th straight win, but it wasn't easy.
Victoria Vivians scored 19 points and Morgan William had 18 to lead the fifth-ranked Bulldogs to a 76-72 victory over Southern California in the championship game of the Women of Troy Classic on Sunday.
William shot 5 for 10 from the field and 8 for 9 on free throws, had three steals and was named the MVP of the tournament.
''They gave us a run for our money,'' said William, who helped MSU win its third tournament of the season. ''After a poor first half, we came out more focused, aggressive and took care of the ball in the second half.''
Breanna Richardson added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs, who are 12-0 for the third time in school history. Vivians, William and Richardson combined to shoot 17 for 38 and MSU outrebounded the Trojans 40-24.
Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said his team did not have its best game but was grateful to come away with the victory.
''I don't know how we won this game today, it was clearly not one of our best and we feel fortunate,'' Schaefer said. ''USC has us on our heels the whole first half. We had 13 turnovers in the first half and only two in the second. But when there is 5 minutes to play, I like our competitiveness and that speaks volumes of our team.''
Sadie Edwards scored 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, Kristen Simon had 15 points and Minyon Moore added 14 points, six assists and four steals for the Trojans (8-2), who snapped a six-game winning streak and lost for the first time at home this season. Asiah Jones also had eight blocked shots.
''I'm disappointed,'' USC coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke said. ''I thought we played well enough to win this game. They made their run and we just didn't recover, but my hat is off to my team. They played 40 minutes of basketball tonight. I think our defense helped caused MSU not to play a great game tonight.''
After trailing most of the game, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 75-70 on William's three-point play with 1:26 to play. Courtney Jaco's 3-point attempt with 2 seconds remaining hit off the rim and Mississippi State grabbed the rebound and held on to win.
Simon scored 11 points in the first half and USC shot 42.3 percent to take a 33-29 lead at the break.
In the tournament's consolation game, SMU defeated Grambling State 56-36 behind Dai Thomas' 17 points.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs completed a nine-game road trip that covered six states and 17,190 miles in 24 days. MSU returns to Starkville and will play five of the next seven games at home.
USC: After a strong showing in nonconference play, with one more game to go, USC will begin its Pac-12 schedule Dec. 30 with an improved offensive attack that is averaging 11.1 more points per game than last season's squad that finished 6-12 in conference.
TIP-INS
MSU 5-8 guard Blair Schaefer has suffered a few bumps and bruises during Bulldogs 9 game road trip but it hasn't slowed her down. In a game against Hawaii, Schaefer suffered a broken nose and didn't miss the next game. On Friday against SMU Schaefer was elbowed above her left eye and received 4 stiches but still scored a career-high 18 points before leaving the game late in the third quarter.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
MSU remained No. 5 in the AP Poll for the second consecutive week, its highest ranking ever in school's history. USC, after pushing the Bulldogs to the limit, should get consideration for nearly knocking off its second Top 25 team this season.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State: Host Alabama State on Tuesday and then complete its nonconference action against Northwestern State on Dec. 28 before opening its SEC schedule against LSU on New Year's Day.
USC: At Big West opponent UC Irvine on Wednesday.
