ITTA BENA, Miss. (March 04, 2019) – Mississippi Valley State women's basketball (5-22, 4-12) team came back from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Lady Tigers of Grambling State Monday evening, 79-61 in the Harrison HPER Complex. After a slow start where they trailed GSU 21-13 after the first period, the Devilettes outscored the Lady Tigers 66-40 the rest of the way. In the 18-point win, the Devilettes had five players score in double-figures led by senior LaKendra Bassett's triple-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
In the third quarter, the Devilettes pulled away from the Lady Tigers and never looked back. MVSU opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run and led by eight at the 3:16 mark after junior Angelica Darcus forced a turnover and scored on the other end. Junior Jazmin Holmon was sent to the line to shoot two at the 1:39 mark extending the MVSU advantage to 58-49.
The Devilettes outscored the Lady Tigers 19-9 in the fourth quarter. Bassett forced a turnover then found senior Desiray Mosley for a three-pointer. Then Bassett hit a three of her own pushing the lead to 66-55 at the 7:09 mark. With two minutes on the clock, the Lady Tigers pulled the full-court press on the Devilettes but the Devilettes stayed solid and were able to force Grambling to turn the ball over. The crowd began clapping with 1:25 on the clock, as the Devilettes were on the verge of snapping a seven-game losing streak. Darcus sealed the deal with 28.2 seconds left as she went to the free throw line to give MVSU an 18-point lead.
In the 18-point win, MVSU outscored Grambling for three quarters. Bassett posted a triple-double on 4-of-9 made field goals and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to end with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Senior Kristy Parker had a team-high 17 points hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Mosley and freshman Sydnie Ward followed suit with 12 points each, and senior Erin Smith added 10 points. The Devilettes outscored the Lady Tigers in the paint 26 to 20 and forced more turnovers 26 to 19.
For Grambling, two players scored in double-figures led by Jazmin Boyd with 18 points followed by Shakyla Hill's 16 points.
The Devilettes will play their final game of the regular season Saturday, March 9 in the R.W. Harrison Complex. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
Postgame Presser
Head Coach Ashley Walker-Johnson
On tonight's game…
"I am just extremely proud of my kids… You have no clue how happy I am for them, and proud of them I am. You know, everyone knows we've struggled big time. They're really starting to buy in and believe. I think we buy in, but we don't always really believe and trust the process… It's starting to show, and it showed tonight big time. I'm just happy for my kids. I am extremely proud of them. I thought they did a good job. I thought they put 40 minutes together for the most part. We always talk about playing all 40 minutes. I think this was probably our second game. The first game would've been Austin Peay that we competed for the entire 40 minutes. We put together a game plan. They were able to stick with it and stand by it. That's why I'm just extremely proud and happy for them."
On tonight's explosive offense…
"It came from everybody. Everybody that stepped on the court scored, but we talked about sharing the ball, moving the ball, passing the ball, and when you do that, you break down the defense… Because we moved the ball as well as we did, I had five people in double figures tonight. That's something we've got to continue to do. I think sometimes, they've got to see it to believe it. And, when they saw it, and I let them know not one, not two, not three, not four, but five people scored in double figures, they couldn't believe it. They were extremely happy and excited. We can put up points when we want to. There is no way you can score 86 points, and then come out and score 40, and think you're going to be victorious. That's not an option. We have to move the ball, and we have to be able to make shots. We have to shoot the ball with confidence. We have to make our layups because everyone knows we struggle with blowing layups. We have to get to the free throw line and knock down our free throws, and we did that tonight."
Senior Guard Kristi Parker
On leading the team in scoring…
"It was my teammates really… just passing the ball like Coach said. We moved the ball real good tonight, and that carried over from Saturday's game. I just let the game come to me again… I just played ball."
Senior Guard LaKendra Bassett
On a triple-double performance…
"Going into the game, I thought about getting my teammates involved, and as it turns out, we won, so, that's all I thought about during the game. Each of our teammates pitched in, so that helped a lot."
