Mississippi State
7-5
Tennessee State
3-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSU | 23 | 22 | 45 |
| MS | 29 | 42 | 71 |
Lady Bulldogs Open Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament With 71-45 Win
January 01, 1970 | Women's Basketball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
ATLANTA - The Mississippi State women's basketball team (7-5) defeated Tennessee State (3-6), 71-45, Friday afternoon at the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament in Atlanta, Ga.
In the first half of action, MState went on an early 11-2 run to open up the game, but Tennessee State answered with a run of their own taking a brief 22-21 lead at the 6:15 mark. That would be the last time that the Lady Tigers would score in the half. MSU went on an 8-0 run that lasted 5:51 to close out the first half of play. The Lady Bulldogs who shot 45 percent from the field in the half were led by freshman forward Bethany Washington's eight points. The Lady Bulldogs went into the locker room with a 29-23 lead.
MState used the first five minutes of the second half to build on their halftime lead. The Lady Tigers came as close as 14 points with 8:00 to go, but that would be the closest they would get in the half. Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week forward Tysheka Grimes finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds before going down with an ankle injury with 10:57 left in the game. MSU's defense held Tennessee State scoreless for more than seven minutes in second half.
The Lady Bulldogs won the battle in the paint outscoring TSU, 50-26. Capitalizing on their first half rebounding margin, Mississippi State finished the game outrebounding the Lady Tigers 52-37.
The Maroon and White scoring ledger was highlighted by Washington posting her first career double-double with a season-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ten of Washington's rebounds were defensive rebounds making her the latest Lady Bulldog to accomplish the feat since teammate Robin Porter did so against Southern Mississippi earlier in the season. Junior guard Miayorka Johnson also added 12 points, tying a season high, and five rebounds.
Sophomore guard Marneshia Richard dished out seven assists, tying and career high and tying former Lady Bulldog Tan White for second on the sophomore single game assist list.
The Lady Bulldogs return to action tomorrow afternoon to face host-Georgia Tech in the championship game of the two-day tournament with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m. CT.
