No. 11 Mississippi State women defeat Samford 68-47

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Dominique Dillingham scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and No. 11 Mississippi State defeated Samford 68-47 in a season-opener on Friday night.

Jazzmun Holmes added 12 points for Mississippi State, which made 16 of 22 free throws and posted a 48-31 rebounding advantage to offset a 2-of-20 performance on 3-point attempts.

Brittany Stevens led Samford with 13 points, making 7 of 8 free throws.

Mississippi State led 16-12 after one quarter but outscored Samford 18-2 in the second quarter, including the last 14 points, to lead 34-14 at the break.

Taylor Reece made two baskets as Samford used an 11-0 run in the third to close to 10, 37-27 with 3:11 to go. Samford trailed by 12 points entering the fourth but Mississippi State put together a 10-0 run and steadily pulled away.