Mississippi State
14-8 (2-5SEC)
Auburn
15-6 (3-3SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS | 22 | 20 | 42 |
| Auburn | 35 | 33 | 68 |
Mississippi State Struggles On Offense, Falls 68-42 At Auburn
February 03, 2008 | Women's Basketball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
AUBURN, Ala. ? Mississippi State could not overcome a prolonged offensive struggle in the first half Sunday afternoon. The Lady Bulldogs managed only two points during a 7-minute stretch as the homestanding Auburn Lady Tigers enjoyed a 16-2 run. From there, Auburn cruised to a 68-42 victory at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
M-State fell to 14-8 overall and 2-4 in Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Bulldogs are now winless in four conference road games. Auburn won its third straight from MSU, while moving to 15-6 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Both teams started hot. Alexis Rack hit a layup to give MSU an 8-7 lead with 16:18 left in the opening half. From there, only Auburn remained hot. During the next 7:01, the Lady Tigers put together a 16-2 run. During that stretch, MSU had back-to-back turnovers before scoring.
After cutting the Auburn lead to 11-10, the Lady Bulldogs missed seven straight shots from the floor. By the time Marneshia Richard scored on a putback, the lead had grown to 23-12. Aubun extended the first-half lead to 17 points before settling for a 35-22 push at the advantage.
In the opening half, MSU hit on 10 of 32 shots from the floor for 31.3 percent. Turnovers were again a problem, with M-State giving possession away 10 times. Marneshia Richard had 8 points and Robin Porter 6 points in the opening half.
Auburn hit on 14 of 31 first-half shots for 45.2 percent. The hosts had a 21-18 rebounding advantage and overcame nine turnovers of their own.
In the second half, the MSU ladies again could not get the offense untracked. A basket by Richard was MSU's lone points in the first 11:05 of the second half. By the time, the Lady Bulldogs scored again, Auburn had salted the game away with 14-2 run to open up a 49-24 advantage.
Back-to-back 3-point plays then allowed Auburn to bolt to a 30-point advantage at 56-26 with 7:22 remaining. Auburn eventually led by as many as 31, while MSU got no closer than the final margin the remainder of the way.
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 17 of 67 shots from the field, for 25.4 percent. The Lady Bulldogs were 1 of 12 from 3-point range and 7 of 8 at the free throw line. Auburn hit 28 of 59 shots from the field for 47.5 percent. The Lady Tigers were 2 of 10 from 3-point range and a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line. Auburn held a 45-36 rebounding advantage and an amazing 44-14 advantage in points in the paint. The Lady Bulldogs finished with 17 turnovers, while Auburn had 19 turnovers.
Cassie Moore led Auburn with a career-high 17 points. DeWanna Bonner added 15 points 13 rebounds, while Sherell Hobbs scored 12 points.
Richard led MSU with 12 points, while Porter and Mary Kathryn Govero each had 10 points. Tysheka Grimes led the Lady Bulldogs with 8 rebounds.
MSU returns home Thursday night to the Humphrey Coliseum. The Lady Bulldogs host second-ranked Tennessee. Game time is 7 p.m. The contest will be televised regionally by CSS. The homestand concludes with Florida at 1:30 p.m. next Sunday. That contest will be shown by Fox Sports Net South.
