Lady Bulldogs Face South Carolina Thursday To Open SEC Tournament Play
? 2009 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Central
? 2009 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The sixth-seeded Mississippi State women's basketball squad will open first-round play of the Southeastern Conference tournament when they face 11th-seeded South Carolina Thursday at 9 p.m. CT. The tournament will take place at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Ark., and coverage of all games through the first three rounds can be seen on SEC-TV.
The Lady Bulldogs (21-8, 8-6 SEC), currently have the third best record in school history. State will be looking to match its school-best 24-8 record set by the 1999-00 team and the 2002-03 squad.
State ranks in the top half of the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense this season. The Lady Bulldogs rank second in the conference in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 36.0 percent from the field.
First team All-SEC selection Alexis Rack continues to pace Mississippi State in scoring, averaging 14.7 points a game. Rack also leads MSU in assists and leads the SEC in three-point field goals a game and ranks third in free throw percentage, shooting 83.0 percent from the foul line. Juniors Chanel Mokango and Armelie Lumanu, who were named to the All-SEC defensive team on Tuesday, lead the Lady Bulldogs on defense. Mokango leads the conference in blocks and ranks eighth nationally, averaging 3.1 a game. Lumanu leads State in steals this season and ranks fourth in the conference, averaging 2.3 a game.
South Carolina enters Thursday's matchup with a 10-17 overall record and 2-12 in the league. Led by first year head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks have seven of their last eight games. Freshman Lakeisha Sutton leads USC in scoring, averaging 11.1 points a game. Senior C.J. Pace is scoring 7.5 points a contest and leads the team in rebounds, pulling down 6.0 a game.
Mississippi State and South Carolina met on Feb. 26 during the regular season in Starkville, as the Lady Bulldogs pulled away in the second half in a 58-41 victory.
In 2003, MSU defeated South Carolina 79-75 in the only previous meeting between the two programs in the SEC Tournament.
The winner of Thursday night's first round game will advance to face third-seeded LSU on Friday at 9 p.m. CT. That game will also be carried by SEC-TV.