? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
COLUMBIA, S.C. - In what was a back-and-forth battle most of the way, Mississippi State's Marneshia Richard posted a season-high 20 points to help the Lady Bulldog basketball team power past South Carolina, 58-54 Thursday night on the road.
With the win, State moves to 16-10 overall and 4-7 in Southeastern Conference play, while South Carolina drops to 13-13 and 2-9. The victory also gave Mississippi State its second win out of the last three matchups with the Gamecocks, and extended MSU's series lead to 13-9 over USC.
In the opening half, Mississippi State took control early thanks in large part to three three-pointers from guard Alexis Rack over the first five minutes. MSU extended its lead to as much as 12 in the period, but South Carolina battled back to within four, at 21-17, with 5:33 to go until halftime. Both teams traded baskets the rest of the way, as State held off the Gamecocks to take a 32-28 advantage into the locker room. In an evenly played period, both teams recorded 18 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs stepped up on the defensive end, forcing South Carolina into 12 turnovers in the period.
To begin the second period, South Carolina hit their first two shots to take a quick 33-32 lead with 18:51 to go. Both teams traded one-point advantages over the next eight minutes of the half. South Carolina did build a 44-40 lead with 9:44 to go in the game. State's Richard and forward Robin Porter each hit two key baskets in the last couple of minutes to help MSU take the lead back. State staved off a strong USC push, as the Lady Bulldogs rebounded and made shots at critical times to notch the final 58-54 margin of victory.
State's defense stepped up in the game, as the Lady Bulldogs held USC to 39.7 percent from the field, including just 15.8 percent from behind the arc. MSU forced South Carolina into 24 turnovers in the game, scoring 16 points off those Gamecock miscues.
For the third consecutive game, Richard scored in double figures with her season-high 20 points to go along with another season-high of six steals. The Lady Bulldogs also had two other players score in double figures, as Rack added 11 points to the MSU cause and Porter scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds in the game.
South Carolina was led by Demetress Adams and Jordan Jones, who each scored 12 points for the Gamecocks.
Looking to ride the momentum from the victory over South Carolina, the Lady Bulldogs now travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on third-ranked Tennessee this Sunday, Feb. 24. Tipoff between the two squads is slated for a 1:30 p.m. CT start at UT's Thompson-Boling Arena.
