Second-Half MSU Charge Falls Just Short In WNIT Bout With WKU, 56-53

Thursday, March 22

Bowling Green, Ky.

TBA

Mississippi State

18-14

Western Kentucky

22-8

Team	1	2	F
MS	18	35	53
WKU	33	23	56

Second-Half MSU Charge Falls Just Short In WNIT Bout With WKU, 56-53

March 22, 2007 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

* Official Statistics
* Official Statistics (PDF)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Despite a hard second-half comeback effort, the Mississippi State women's basketball team (18-14) ended its 2006-07 season with a tough 56-53 loss to the Western Kentucky Toppers (22-8) Thursday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The first 20 minutes of basketball for the Lady Bulldogs were very uncharacteristic, as State was not able to stop the Lady Toppers. MSU scored the first points of the half, but would not hold the lead very long as Western Kentucky went on a 14-2 run and held MSU without a field goal for over six minutes.

The Lady Bulldogs would go on a short 10-4 run to bring the game within 10 points, but that would be as close as MState would get in the period. State did not get to the free throw line until the second half and shot just 27 percent from the field in the half. WKU took a commanding 33-18 lead into intermission.

In the second half, the Lady Bulldogs battled back, rattling off a 10-3 run to bring the deficit to single digits at 36-28. By the 8:47 mark, MSU had three players with four personal fouls. MState continued clawing its way back into the game, cutting the game to a 10-point deficit twice and closing the gap to single digits several other times. Then, late in the game, State made a huge run and had a chance to win in the final seconds.

Junior Imesia Jackson hit a jumper with 3:45 left to cut WKU's lead to 53-46. The Lady Bulldogs kept cutting away at the Lady Toppers' advantage with a layup by sophomore guard Marneshia Richard with 1:46 left, trimming the score to 55-50. Freshman forward Tysheka Grimes then drained a huge three-pointer to make the score 55-53 with 1:09 left in the contest. After a WKU turnover, another Grimes long-range attempt was off the mark and, after a State foul with seven seconds left, WKU's Dominique Duck went to the free throw line, making one. A late MSU chance to tie missed, sealing the win for the Lady Toppers at 56-53.

"I was very proud of how we battled back in the game," MSU head coach Sharon Fanning said. "But our focus initially was not there...our mindset was not good early. If we had taken the ball to the rim the whole game like we did in the second half, the score might have been very different. But the way we finished the game, we hope will carry over to something we can build on.

"We've learned how to win this year. If you look at us at the beginning of the year, we were a little passive. And I think we've become a much more mature, aggressive basketball team. We talked about it in the locker room - this season ended today, but next year's season began when we walked off that court tonight. It begins because you have to have a vision of where you want to be."

The Lady Bulldogs were led by junior Imesia Jackson with 12 points and six rebounds. Grimes notched 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Richard tallied 10 points and five rebounds and also dished out five assists.

WKU was paced by Crystal Kelly's 15 points and eight rebounds.

With her five assists, Richard took over the top spot on the sophomore class assists list, totalling 125 assists this season and surpassing Tan White's record of 124.