MSU Comes Up Short Against Duke 64-56

Freshman star Victoria Vivians scored 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds but the 5th seeded Bulldogs came up dry at inopportune times and lost their NCAA Tournament second round game to the 4th seed Duke Blue Devils 64-56 on Sunday in Durham, NC.

Duke shot nearly 52% from the field and freshman Azura Stevens scored 22 points and 10 rebounds to carry the Blue Devils to victory.  A 15-2 run in the second half broke the game open for Duke and they never relinquished the lead. Duke moves on to the Sweet 16 and will play the winner of Princeton-Maryland.

MSU pulled back to with 6 at 58-52 with 1:21 left but after a questionable blocking call with 1:02 left drew the ire of MSU head coach Vic Schaefer and he was given a technical foul, MSU fell back behind 61-52 and couldn't do enough to make a comeback.

Even with the loss, 2015 has statistically been the best season in Mississippi State women's basketball history with a  record 27 overall wins. MSU returns a stellar set of players next year with star freshmen Victoria Vivians, the SEC's leading scorer for 2015, and Morgan William, who repeatedly came up huge in the clutch for the Bulldogs. Things should only go up from women's hoops in Starkville.