Sunday, January 4
Starkville
2:00 PM
Mississippi State
12-2
42
vs
51
Xavier
12-4
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
XU
19
32
51
Mississippi State
21
21
42
Xavier Outlasts Lady Bulldogs, 51-42
January 04, 2009 | Women's Basketball
? Official Statistics
? Official Statistics (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State suffered its first home defeat of the women's basketball season Sunday afternoon, falling to Xavier 51-42 in the Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 12-2 on the campaign, including a 7-1 mark at home. Xavier, who had previously defeated Southeastern Conference foes Georgia, LSU and Kentucky, improved to 12-4 with the victory.
The contest was a defensive struggle throughout. Neither team could establish momentum with both teams using a bruising, physical style of play. Offensively, neither team could find any consistency, with Xavier shooting 26.5 percent from the floor and MSU finishing at 24.5 percent.
Despite a horrendous first 10 minutes of play, the Lady Bulldogs righted the ship and actually eased into halftime with a 21-19 advantage.
However, in the first eight minutes of the second half, the Musketeers used a 14-2 run to seize the advantage in the contest. The Lady Bulldogs made one last gasp, closing within 38-35 on Alexis Rack 3-point basket with 5:36 remaining in regulation. From there, Xavier hit its final 11 free throw attempts to stay out of harm's way.
Chanel Mokango led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points, while Rack was also in double figures with 15 points. Robin Porter had a team-high 11 rebounds, including=2 0eight defensive boards. Tudy Reed paced Xavier with 22 points, while Ta'Shia Phillips added 10 points. Ta'Shia Phillips had 15 rebounds, while April Phillips had 13 rebounds.
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs converted 13 of 53 shot attempts (24.5 percent), 1 of 16 3-point attempts (6.3 percent) and 15 of 23 shots from the foul line (65.2 percent). The Musketeers made 13 of 49 shot attempts (26.5 percent), 3 of 13 3-point attempts (23.1 percent) and 22 of 26 free throw attempts (84.6 percent).
Xavier held a 47-35 rebounding advantage. MSU had six assists and 14 turnovers, while Xavier had six assists and 19 turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs only had two turnovers in the game's final half. MSU was credited with six blocked shots, including five by Mokango.
MSU returns to action Thursday with the beginning of Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Bulldogs open at 18th-ranked Florida. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT Thursday in Gainesville, Fla. That start time has been moved up by a couple of hours due to Florida's participation in the national championship football game.
The Lady Bulldogs return home for in-state rival Ole Miss at 2 p.m. next Sunday.
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 12-2 on the campaign, including a 7-1 mark at home. Xavier, who had previously defeated Southeastern Conference foes Georgia, LSU and Kentucky, improved to 12-4 with the victory.
The contest was a defensive struggle throughout. Neither team could establish momentum with both teams using a bruising, physical style of play. Offensively, neither team could find any consistency, with Xavier shooting 26.5 percent from the floor and MSU finishing at 24.5 percent.
Despite a horrendous first 10 minutes of play, the Lady Bulldogs righted the ship and actually eased into halftime with a 21-19 advantage.
However, in the first eight minutes of the second half, the Musketeers used a 14-2 run to seize the advantage in the contest. The Lady Bulldogs made one last gasp, closing within 38-35 on Alexis Rack 3-point basket with 5:36 remaining in regulation. From there, Xavier hit its final 11 free throw attempts to stay out of harm's way.
Chanel Mokango led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points, while Rack was also in double figures with 15 points. Robin Porter had a team-high 11 rebounds, including=2 0eight defensive boards. Tudy Reed paced Xavier with 22 points, while Ta'Shia Phillips added 10 points. Ta'Shia Phillips had 15 rebounds, while April Phillips had 13 rebounds.
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs converted 13 of 53 shot attempts (24.5 percent), 1 of 16 3-point attempts (6.3 percent) and 15 of 23 shots from the foul line (65.2 percent). The Musketeers made 13 of 49 shot attempts (26.5 percent), 3 of 13 3-point attempts (23.1 percent) and 22 of 26 free throw attempts (84.6 percent).
Xavier held a 47-35 rebounding advantage. MSU had six assists and 14 turnovers, while Xavier had six assists and 19 turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs only had two turnovers in the game's final half. MSU was credited with six blocked shots, including five by Mokango.
MSU returns to action Thursday with the beginning of Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Bulldogs open at 18th-ranked Florida. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT Thursday in Gainesville, Fla. That start time has been moved up by a couple of hours due to Florida's participation in the national championship football game.
The Lady Bulldogs return home for in-state rival Ole Miss at 2 p.m. next Sunday.
Team Stats
XU
MS
FG%
.265
.245
3FG%
.231
.063
FT%
.846
.652
RB
47
35
TO
19
14
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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