Mississippi State
(21-12)
#8 Ohio State
(31-5)
Lady Bulldogs Stun No. 8 Ohio State, 87-67; Reach NCAA Sweet 16
March 23, 2010 | Women's Basketball
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Mississippi State women's basketball team is now going where no other group of Lady Bulldogs has ever gone before. The Lady Bulldogs are headed to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 after stunning No. 8 Ohio State 87-67 in a second-round tournament game Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
Seventh-seeded MSU (21-12) faces third-seeded Florida State (28-5) in a Dayton Region semifinal matchup Sunday in Dayton, Ohio. The game willl tip at 1:30 p.m. CT and be televised nationally by ESPN2. After winning both the Big Ten regular season title and tournament titles, second-seeded and eighth-ranked Ohio State finishes at 31-5.
Playing in their sixth-ever NCAA Tournament, the Lady Bulldogs have now won back-to-back games for the first time ever. For MSU, it was sweet revenge since Ohio State ended the Lady Bulldogs tournament run a year ago, 64-58, also in a second-round matchup.
Much like that contest, the Lady Bulldogs held a commanding lead late in the game. This time, the Maroon and White were able to close the deal. The MSU women shot an NCAA Tournament school-record 55.7 percent from the field, including 59.3 percent in the final half. The Lady Bulldogs forced Ohio State into 24 turnovers - the second-most for the Buckeyes this year and also another MSU NCAAT school record.
The Lady Bulldogs enjoyed early 5-4 and 8-7 leads before Ohio State threw together an 11-2 run for an 18-10 lead. The Buckeyes started strong from the field, hitting their first six 3-point attempts in the contest. The lead would remain at eight, at 27-19 with 8:56 left in the opening half.
From there, MSU found its defensive identity. A 3-point basket by Mary Kathryn Govero capped a 15-5 run as M-State grabbed a 34-32 advantage with 3:59 left in the half.
Finding its ball-hawking defense and long-range offensive success much to its liking, the Lady Bulldogs kept plucking away. By the time the half had elapsed, the Maroon and White had reeled off a game-changing 27-7 run and suddenly had a 46-34 lead at the intermission.
The teams played even through the first half of the final half. Alexis Rack may then have delivered the final blow. Rack hit a 3-point basket as the shot clock expired, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 66-54 push with 8:37 left.
Seizing an opportunity to close the door, the Lady Bulldogs did just that, scoring six straight points to make it a 9-0 run. A jumper by Armelie Lumanu capped that run with a baseline jumper for a 72-54 lead with 6:54 remaining.
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 34 of 61 shots from the field (55.7 percent), 12 of 22 shots from 3-point range (54.5 percent) and 7 of 13 shots from the foul line (53.8 percent). The Buckeyes hit 25 of 54 shots from the field (46.3 percent), 10 of 15 shots from 3-point range (66.7 percent) and 7 of 9 shots from the foul line (77.8 percent).
OSU held a 34-26 rebounding advantage. The Lady Bulldogs had 21 assists and 11 turnovers, while the Buckeyes had 17 assists and 24 turnovers.
Rack finished with 30 points - her biggest output in a postseason game. The senior guard had six assists, two steals and also blocked a shot as well. Chanel Mokango scored 19 points, while Lumanu had 17 points, a team-high six rebounds and six of her squad's 14 steals. Govero enjoyed a 5-of-6 night from 3-point range for 15 total points and also had five steals.
Jantel Lavender led Ohio State with 17 points. Samantha Prahalis had 14 points and 10 turnovers. Sarah Schulze scored 12 points, while both Tayler Hill and Brittany Johnson finished with 11 points.
The Lady Bulldogs will face third-seed Florida State in its Sweet 16 matchup on Sunday, Mar. 28 for a 1:32 p.m. CT tipoff in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
