Starkville subregional: Clemson and Mississippi State advance to the second round of NCAA Tournament
Clemson and Mississippi State advance to the second round
Tigers on top! Dagger 3 from Westbrook gives Clemson its first lead of the 2nd half.
47-45 Clemson, 1:56 Q3 pic.twitter.com/IAvvRPcj75
— Clemson Women's Basketball (@ClemsonWBB) March 23, 2019
Clemson defeats South Dakota
With an effective post presence and efficiency from the field, South Dakota led Clemson after the opening quarter, 19-15. The Coyotes continued to work the perimeter well and outrebounded Clemson 21-13 by halftime. As a result, South Dakota helped themselves to a 35-31 lead at halftime while shooting 50 percent from the field. Sophomore center Hannah Sjerven came off the bench for South Dakota to lead with 10 points at the half.
Clemson prevailed after a shaky start as a strong third quarter helped them outscore South Dakota 20-13.
The teams went back and forth throughout the final quarter, but senior guard Danielle Edwards was the difference-maker. Clemson’s perimeter presence prevailed as Edwards went 5-of-7 from three in the second half alone. She finished behind graduate guard Simone Westbrook’s 27 points and four assists.
“[My teammates] did a great job of finding me and once I hit the first [three],” Edwards said. “I just kept calling for the ball, whether I was open or not. It felt amazing to be out there – this stage is huge and it’s always been a dream of mine to be here.”
Leaders
Clemson
- Simone Westbrook 27 points, four assists
- Danielle Edwards 25 points, eight rebounds
South Dakota
- Hannah Sjerven 17 points, 12-rebounds
Top seed Mississippi State advances over Southern
No. 1 seed Mississippi State defended its homecourt and jumped out to a 11-3 lead over No. 16 Southern early. The Bulldogs’ 13-0 run to end the first quarter lifted them to a 37-10 advantage.
Southern improved their shot selection and zone defense to climb out of a 27-point deficit. The Jaguars found consistency and defensive stops against the Bulldogs to outscore them 19-18 in the second quarter. MSU’s tempo decreased as perimeter performance tumbled. They went 1-9 from three-point range and only outrebounded Southern 25-16 at halftime. Still, MSU led 55-29 at the break.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures. Despite going 3-of-13 from three overall, Mississippi State’s 58 points in the paint and 16 fast break points leveled the playing field. In addition, the Jaguars committed 28 turnovers.
“We’ll have one day with this group to get ready,” Schaefer said on the upcoming battle against Clemson. “I told Teaira [McCowan] sitting on the bench, ‘I want to get better tomorrow.’ This team has fought me on that all year, but I want to get better tomorrow. I want to get ready for Clemson, but I want to get better. We will have a good day tomorrow and we’ll get ready.”
No Southern player scored in double digits.
Leaders
Mississippi State
- Anriel Howard 23 points, 12 rebounds
- Teaira McCowan 22 points, 16 rebounds
- Bre’Amber Scott 18 points, 4 rebounds
- Jazzmun Holmes 10 points, 7 rebounds
Southern
- Skylar O’Bear 9 points
- Alyric Scott 8 points, 5 rebounds
