McMillan Goes Off, But Spartans Fall At Mississippi State
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Starkville, Miss. – Upstate senior post player Chelsea McMillan had a tremendous start to the 2010-11 season, dominating the paint to the tune of 17 points and 20 rebounds, but Mississippi State capitalized on Upstate's turnovers to take an 87-53 victory Friday night to tip-off the basketball season.
McMillan's (East Gadsden, Fla.) 20 rebounds stands as the fourth-best single-game effort in school history, and the top rebounding effort in Upstate's Division I era.
"Chelsea was unbelievable," said Upstate head coach Tammy George. "I can't say enough good things about her. She is a player. She always seems to step it up against competition and she did so tonight."
Despite the tremendous game from McMillan, the A-Sun's Preseason Player of the Year, and a stolid debut from freshman Madisen Webb (Georgetown, Ky.), Upstate couldn't overcome costly turnovers. The Spartans committed 24 in the game which led to 34 points off turnovers for Mississippi State. The Lady Bulldogs took 23 more shots than Upstate.
"We turned the ball over too much tonight," said George. "You have to take care of the basketball. Even though we didn't shoot the ball well, we are a good offensive team. We can't give up that many more shots and we have to get shots ourselves. We have to take care of the ball so that we can get shots. We still have a long way to go but we will get better."
Upstate withstood early nerves and Mississippi State's pressure defense. The Spartans turned the ball over on their first three possessions and the Lady Bulldogs sprinted out to an 8-1 lead. However, Tee'Ara Copney (Asheville, N.C.) sank a three-pointer for Upstate's first field goal of the game 3:37 into the action to get things started. Upstate cut the lead to two, 8-6, on a jumper by McMillan.
The score remained close until Mississippi State used a 5-point run to open a 20-8 lead with 11:14 to play in the half. The Spartans would never get the deficit into single digits the rest of the way.
Mississippi State stretched the lead to 17 points with six minutes to play in the half and took it to 18 late in the period before taking a 40-24 lead into the locker room. The Lady Bulldogs shot just 39 percent from the floor, but forced Upstate into 11 turnovers leading to 13 points to open the lead at the intermission. Upstate shot 32 percent from the floor.
After Mississippi State pushed the lead to 19 points early in the half, Upstate made a push to get back into the game. The Spartans ran off four-straight points on back-to-back buckets by McMillan to get within 15. After a Lady Bulldog timeout, Mississippi State went on a 9-0 run to open a 24-point lead, 54-30. The Spartans would get only as close as 20 the rest of the way as the Lady Bulldogs took the win.
Upstate shot 31 percent from the game, hitting 18-of-58 from the floor. The Spartans shot 3-15 from the arc and converted 14-of-22 from the free throw line. They finished with 24 turnovers in the game.
Another bright spot on the night for Upstate was the play of Webb and the other freshman. There were times when George had three freshmen on the court at the same time. Webb highlighted the freshman class, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds.
"Madisen is a tough kid and works hard," said George. "A lot of good things happened when she was on the floor. It was a good start in her first game. We have a lot of confidence in our freshmen. They are going to have to play big minutes for us. I think they will gain more confidence the more they are out there."
Mississippi State shot 41 percent from the field and 28 percent from the three-point arc. The Lady Bulldogs converted 14-of-16 from the free throw line. They committed just 10 turnovers in the game. Mary Kathryn Govero led the team with 28 points and five rebounds. Porsha Porter finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Katia May and Diamber Johnson added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
