Lady Bulldogs Face Road Test At Alabama Thursday
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State Women's Basketball team will look to stay in third place in the Southeastern Conference standings as they take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Thursday evening. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT at UA's Coleman Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a disappointing 50-36 loss to Auburn at home on senior day this past Sunday. The 36 points scored was the lowest by State since scoring just 31 against LSU in Jan. 2008. The Lady Bulldogs are currently 17-10 overall and 8-6 in SEC play. Alexis Rack paces Mississippi State in scoring, averaging 17.9 points a game. Armelie Lumanu (12.3), Tysheka Grimes (11.2), Mary Kathryn Govero (11.2) and Chanel Mokango (10.6) are also scoring in double figures. State ranks fifth in the league in scoring offense, fifth in scoring defense and fourth in scoring margin. Rack continues to rank third in the league in assists with 4.7 a game. Lumanu is second in the league in steals with 2.7 a game while Mokango is second in the league, averaging 2.4 blocks a game.
With eight points against Auburn, Grimes became the 17th Lady Bulldog to score 1,000 points during her career. She now has 1,003 points. With 1,658 career points, Rack stands just 19 points shy of becoming Mississippi State's third leading scorer all time.
With a 11-16 overall record and a 3-11 mark in league play, Alabama comes into Thursday's game coming off its first SEC road win of the season at Arkansas. The Crimson Tide led in scoring by junior forward Tierney Jenkins. Jenkins is scoring 11.8 points a game. Sophomore guard Ericka Russell is also scoring in double figures, averaging 11.0 points a game. Alabama ranks ninth in scoring offense and 11th in scoring defense. The Tide ranks 12th in scoring margin.
In 45 previous meetings dating back to 1977, Alabama holds a 33-12 advantage in the series with Mississippi State. However, Mississippi State has won four straight over Alabama and eighth of the last 11 meetings. In the final regular season game last year, Mississippi State rallied from a halftime deficit to down Alabama 67-49 in Tuscaloosa. State is 5-15 all time against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Following Thursday's game, State will conclude its regular season when they travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU on Sunday, Feb. 28.