Mississippi State
16-13 (4-10SEC)
#6 LSU
25-4 (14-0SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | 30 | 34 | 64 |
| MS | 18 | 31 | 49 |
State Women Fall To LSU, 64-49, To Close Out SEC Regular Season
March 02, 2008 | Women's Basketball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
? Postgame Quotes (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State University women's basketball team (16-13, 4-10 Southeastern Conference) tied sixth-ranked LSU at 42 with 11:51 remaining in the second half, but the Lady Bulldogs could not take the lead. As a result, MSU dropped its second straight contest, falling to the Lady Tigers (25-4, 14-0 SEC), 64-49, on Sunday afternoon in the regular season finale for both schools. With the win, the LSU secured the conference's regular season title.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to an 11-0 lead to start the opening stanza.
The Lady Bulldogs went on an 11-6 run to cut the deficit to 18-11 on a three-point basket by sophomore Alexis Rack. Both teams traded baskets until the first half ended with LSU taking a 30-18 advantage into the lockerroom.
MState came out of the intermission fighting back with a layup by Rack and a three-pointer by junior Marneshia Richard to cut the lead down to single digits early in the period. The Lady Bulldogs cut the LSU lead down to a single point after MSU erupted on a 16-8 run fueled by the nine points from junior Donnisha Tate. After MState tied the game, the Lady Tigers clawed their way back into the lead, going on an 11-2 run to push the lead back out to 10 points at 54-44. LSU continued to pile on the points with three straight three-pointers by Quianna Chaney, running the lead to 62-44 with 1:47 left in action. From there, LSU went on to take the win, 64-49.
Rack and Tate scored 11 each, while Richard added a career-high eight rebounds. MState shot 80 percent from the charity stripe, connecting on 4-of-5 free throw shots.
LSU's Sylvia Fowles led all scorers with 20 points and recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds. Chaney added 18 for the Lady Tigers and Erica White tallied 10 points in the win.
State clinched the ninth seed in next week's SEC Women's Basketball Tournament. Florida's 72-66 defeat of Mississippi on Sunday afternoon pushed the Lady Rebels into the eighth slot. The archrivals will meet for the third time this season on Thursday afternoon at noon CT from Nashville's Sommet Center. The two schools have won each game on their home floor this season. The winner of Thursday's game advances to play overall top seed LSU on Friday at noon CT.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday's games of the tournament will be broadcast regionally by Fox Sports Net. Sunday's 7:30 p.m. CT championship game will be televised on ESPN2.
