Mississippi State
8-11, 0-7SEC
#5 Tennessee
20-2, 8-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 37 | 18 | 55 |
| Tennessee | 35 | 46 | 81 |
State Women Downed At #5 Tennessee
January 27, 2011 | Women's Basketball
The Lady Bulldogs led by as many eight points in the game's opening half. In the first 20 minutes, MSU shot 47 percent from the field, including hitting seven 3-point baskets. The Maroon and White actually carried a 37-35 lead into the locker room at half time.
UT answered with an 18-0 run to start the game's final half and were not headed the rest of the way. The Lady Bulldogs went the first 5:49 of the final half without scoring before a basket by Porsha Porter ended that draught.
"I thought that we were ready to play hard in the first half," MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. "I was really disappointed in the second half. I have to give credit to the players stepping up because they took it to us from a defensive standpoint."
With the victory - Tennessee's 32nd straight in the series - the Lady Vols improved to 20-2 overall and 8-0 in league play. MSU fell to 8-11 and 0-7. A year removed from making the Sweet Sixteen, the MSU women are winless through seven league games for the first time since 1991.
The Lady Vols scored the game's first eight points. Still, MSU held its composure and hung tough. A 3-point basket by Mary Kathryn Govero gave the Maroon and White its first lead at 20-19 with 7:56 left before halftime.
The lead swapped hands a couple of times before MSU grabbed a 33-25 lead on a putback by Diamber Johnson and 3-point basket from Porter.
The Lady Vols ended the half on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to 37-35.
"I'm hoping that we're getting better," Fanning-Otis said. "There's a lot of room for this team to grow. You have to play with confidence. When you play in our league, it's so physical there and you can't get tired."
After the 18-0 run, MSU got no closer than 14 points the remainder of the way. Tennessee shot 47.1 percent from the floor in the game's final half.
"(This game) gives us confidence, but it seems like we've had one good half of every game," Govero said. "We're working on putting two good halves together. We know when we do that, we're going to see the results we want."
For the contest, the Lady Bulldogs hit 22 of 62 shots from the field (35.5 percent), 8 of 20 shots from 3-point range (40.0 percent) and 3 of 3 shots from the foul line (100 percent). The Lady Vols hit 31 of 73 shots from the field (42.5 percent), 4 of 16 shots from 3-point range (25.0 percent) and 15 of 20 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).
UT held a 51-34 rebounding advantage. UT had 20 assists and 11 turnovers, while MSU had nine assists and 15 turnovers.
Johnson finished with 19 points. Govero added 16 points, while Porter finished with 13 points. Porter also had a team-high eight rebounds, including six on the defensive end, while dishing out five assists.
Glory Johnson was one of five UT players in double figures. Johnson had a career-high 22 points, while Taber Spani followed with 18 points and Meighan Simmons had 12 points. Shekinna Strickland and Kamiko Williams each added 10 points.
The Lady Bulldogs host Florida at 1 p.m. Sunday. That contest will be televised nationally as part of the "Campus Connection" series on ESPNU. It will also be the "Think Pink" breast cancer awareness contest for this season.
