No. 2 Miss St rolls past No. 7 USC in second half to stay unbeaten

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley gestures to her players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Victoria Vivians scored 20 of her 24 points in the first half to help spark a struggling Mississippi State offense and the No. 2 Bulldogs rallied to beat No. 7 South Carolina 67-53 on Monday night.

The Bulldogs (24-0, 10-0 SEC) ended an 11-game losing streak to the Gamecocks that included a defeat in the national championship game last season.

A 13-0 run to begin the fourth quarter was the difference in the game as the Bulldogs turned a five-point third quarter deficit into a lead they wouldn’t lose, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 10,794 fans that was a Humphrey Coliseum record.

Blair Schaefer hit two big 3-pointers during that stretch to help flip the game in the Bulldogs’ favor.

South Carolina (18-5, 7-3) started the game up 20-10 after one quarter holding the Bulldogs to just 4-of-16 from the field. The second quarter belonged to the Bulldogs who inserted freshman forward Chloe Bibby to guard A’ja Wilson. South Carolina scored eight points in the quarter and the Bulldogs had a 13-2 run that helped them out to a 29-28 halftime advantage.

The Gamecocks had 25 points and 14 rebounds from Wilson but she managed just seven points in the second half. Doniyah Cliney also managed double figures with 10 points but the rest of the team combined for 18 points total.

Mississippi State had 14 points from Blair Schaefer to go along with Vivians’ big night. Star center Teaira McCowan had two points in three quarters and finished with nine points and a career-high 20 rebounds.

UP NEXT:

Mississippi State travels to Florida on Thursday.

South Carolina travels to Alabama on Thursday.