Mississippi State
(20-12)
Middle Tennessee
(25-6)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Tennessee | 30 | 34 | 64 |
| Mississippi State | 28 | 40 | 68 |
Lady Bulldogs Storm Back To Win NCAA Opener Over MTSU, 68-64
March 21, 2010 | Women's Basketball
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Mississippi State scored the final 13 points of the game, storming past Middle Tennessee State 68-64 in an opening-round game of the 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament played Sunday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.
The seventh-seeded Lady Bulldogs (20-12) advance for a postseason rematch with second-seeded Ohio State (31-4) in a quarterfinal matchup of the Dayton Regional. That contest will tip at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday and will be shown nationally by both ESPN2.
A year ago, Ohio State ended MSU's season with a 64-58 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs are no stranger to postseason success having now posted a 5-1 record all-time in NCAA Tournament opening-round games.
With Sunday's victory, the Lady Bulldogs secured the fourth 20-win season in school history. Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament champion MTSU (25-6), the 10th seed in the region, saw a 16-game win streak snapped with Sunday's defeat.
Armelie Lumnau hit a jumper in the lane to give the Lady Bulldogs a 66-64 advantage with 37 seconds left in the contest. On the other end, MSU forced a turnover. The Blue Raiders then had to foul four times before MSU finally entered the one-and-one. Lumanu closed the contest by sinking two free throws with only four seconds left.
MTSU grabbed a 64-55 lead with 4:39 left when Anne Marie Lanning hit the final of her squad's 12 3-pointers in the contest. The Lady Bulldog rally began with an Alexis Rack 3-point basket. After MTSU missed a 3-pointer, Lumanu hit a fast-break layup.
A steal by Diamber Johnson led to a Rack layup with 2:29 left. Less than a minute later, Rack again drove baseline, straight to the goal and hit the game-tying layup.
The Blue Raiders missed two different shots before Lumanu hit the eventual game-winner on the other end.
Defensively, MSU was given the task of stopping one of the nation's best 3-point shooting teams. The Blue Raiders entered the contest averaging 10 made 3's per game, shooting at a clip of 37 percent behind the arc.
In the opening half, the Blue Raiders did start strong and actually sprinted out to a 26-11 lead. The Lady Bulldogs eventually righted the ship with a 7-1 run, cutting the deficit to 27-20. The Blue Raiders managed only one made field goal over the final 9:11 of the half.
The run wound up being a half-ending 17-4 spree, cutting the deficit to 30-28 at the intermission. The Blue Raiders were 5-of-25 from 3-point range in the opening half.
The Lady Bulldogs managed the game's first tie at 34-all with 18:37 remaining. Not deterred, the Blue Raiders used a 3-pointer from Jackie Pickel to run out to a 47-41 advantage with 13:24 remaining.
MSU closed within one at 47-46 before the Blue Raiders popped off eight straight points for a 55-46 advantage. Another trey by Pickel gave the Blue Raiders the game's biggest push at 58-48 with 7:48 let.
Ironically, the Maroon and White did not force the game's second tie until 64-all. MSU did not lead until Lumanu's basket with 37 seconds left.
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 26 of 60 shots from the field (43.3 percent), 7 of 20 shots from 3-point range (35.0 percent) and 9 of 11 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent). The Blue Raiders hit 23 of 64 shots from the field (35.9 percent), 12 of 36 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 6 of 8 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).
MSU held a 41-34 rebounding advantage. The Lady Bulldogs had 16 assists and 17 turnovers, while the Blue Raiders had 19 assists and 14 turnovers.
Rack paced the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points, while Chanel Mokango had 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Lumanu finished with 12 points.
Alysha Clark paced the Blue Raiders with 17 points. Also in double figures were Brandi Brown with 14 points, Chelsia Lymon with 11 points, Pickel with 11 points and Lanning with 11 points. Three MTSU players played 39 or more minutes, while the Blue Raiders received no points from a reserve player.
