Mississippi State
15-9 (3-6SEC)
Florida
15-9 (4-5SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UF | 21 | 50 | 71 |
| MS | 44 | 39 | 83 |
Teamwork Fuels Lady Bulldogs' Rout Of Florida, 83-71
February 10, 2008 | Women's Basketball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
? Postgame Quotes (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Tysheka Grimes recorded her fifth career double-double and Mississippi State jumped out to a 20-0 lead to rout the visiting Florida Gators, 83-71, on "Think Pink" Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs (15-9, 3-6 Southeastern Conference) earned their first series win in Starkville since the 2003-04 season and recorded the first back-to-back 20-point runs in conference play in school history (Tennessee, Thursday evening, 21-0 and Florida, Sunday afternoon, 20-0).
MState's 26-point 33-7 advantage with 7:08 to play in the first period was fueled by 12 points from Grimes and 10 from senior forward Imesia Jackson. After getting their first basket at the 14:44 mark, Florida (15-9, 4-5 SEC) rallied back to cut the lead to 20 at 33-13 with 5:28 left in the period, but that is as close as the Gators would get. MState took a 44-21 lead into the lockerroom at the break. MSU's stifling defense held the Gators to 28 percent shooting from the floor and forced 16 UF turnovers.
Florida rebounded early in the second period with back-to-back baskets from Depree Bowden to pull within 19. The Lady Bulldogs held their composure and jumped back out by as much as 26 with 10:25 left to play.
From there, the Gators slowly chopped away at the lead in the game's last five minutes but MSU was able to prevent the comeback, taking the 12-point, 83-71 win.
Three MState players tallied 18 points each. Led by Grimes' 18 with 10 rebounds, junior forward Robin Porter added a season-high 18 and Jackson shot 7-of-8 from the floor for 18 points. Junior guard Marneshia Richard dished the ball out 10 times for the second consecutive game and came two points shy of her second career double-double with eight points.
Freshman forward Mary Kathryn Govero also added 12 points for MSU.
Florida's Jennifer Mossor led all scorers with 20 points, while Bowden added 19. The Gators also got 10 points each from Marshae Dotson and Sha Brooks.
State travels to archrival Mississippi on Thursday evening to face the Rebels in a 7 p.m. contest from the Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford.
