Lady Bulldogs Travel To Alabama Thursday
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State will close out its regular season road slate on Thursday, when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on Alabama. The Lady Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will tip at 6 p.m. at UA's newly renovated Foster Auditorium. Thursday's game will be broadcast on WFCA 107.9 FM and Maroon To The Max. Bart Gregory will call the action.
Mississippi State has relied heavily on its defense this season as the Lady Bulldogs are fifth in the league in field goal percentage defense as opponents are shooting just 37.8 percent from the field. Offensively, State is shooting 37.1 percent from the field.
Senior Mary Kathryn Govero is leading the scoring charge, averaging 12.3 points a game. Junior Diamber Johnson is scoring 12.0 points a contest. Junior Ashley Brown is pacing State in rebounds with 8.3 a game which is fifth-best in the SEC. Brown is now averaging 6.4 points a game. Junior Porsha Porter is adding 10.3 points a game.
Govero scored 17 points in her second consecutive game, going 7-15 from the floor against the Gators. Govero was 3-5 from 3-point range as she added four rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Alabama enters Thursday's game on a 3-game win streak and have won four of its last five games. In that streak, UA has defeated Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss. The Tide is 15-12 overall this season and 4-10 in league play.
Tierney Jenkins, the SEC's second-leading scorer is averaging 16 points a game while junior guard Erika Russell is averaging 10.3 a game. Head coach Wendell Hudson is in his third season with the program. Alabama ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring offense while ranking 11th in scoring defense. Alabama is second in the league in steals and second in turnover margin.
Mississippi State and Alabama have met 47 times in the overall series dating back to 1977. Alabama's win over MSU earlier this season snapped State's 5-game winning streak in the series dating back to 2007. State holds a 7-3 lead in the last 10 games.
Mississippi State and Alabama met on Feb. 3 in Starkville as UA defeated MSU 66-61. Mississippi State would outshoot the Tide but turned the ball over 21 times with only nine assists. Alabama, who lead by seven at halftime, had four players in double figures led by Tierney Jenkins who scored 17. Mississippi State's Porsha Porter, who had a career-high 30 points in the effort while Mary Kathryn added 10.