Women's Hoops Heads To No. 5 Tennessee For Thursday Contest
Player Bios (PDF)
Live Audio
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (16-9, 5-7 SEC) stay on the road to face fifth-ranked Tennessee (21-4, 11-1 SEC) on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. CT. In just the next to last game of the regular season, State is looking to add to its two most recent wins and find its first ever win over the Lady Vols. MSU is currently in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league with Florida and Auburn.
MSU is led by senior guard Tan White, who is now second in the nation in scoring after holding at the top spot for four weeks with 22.8 points per game. The midseason Naismith Award candidate has led the SEC in scoring all season. Senior guard Tiania Burns is also averaging double digits with 10.8 points per game.
State continues to lead the league in three-point field goals made averaging 6.72 per game. The Lady Bulldogs are 8-2 when shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range. They are 23rd nationally in 3-point field goals made per game and 37th in 3-point field goal percentage. Three Lady Bulldogs are ranked in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage. Senior forward Rebecca Kates is fourth with .407 percentage, Burns is sixth with .397 and senior guard Ebonie Ferguson is eighth with a .389 percentage.
This season State is 1-4 vs. top-25 ranked teams. The last time MSU defeated a top 10 ranked team was Feb. 18, 2001 vs. No. 9 Florida, 79-75.
Tennessee is 11-1 in the SEC with its sole loss coming at LSU, 68-58. The Lady Vols have won three straight since the loss. Senior forward Shyra Ely is averaging 13.6 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game while junior guard Shanna Zolman is recording 11.7 points per game.
Tennessee leads the overall series, 23-0. The Lady Vols are 9-0 in Knoxville. Six of the last eight meetings have been decided by single digits. Last time these two teams met was in the 2004 SEC Women¹s Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. After going into the lockerroom at halftime tied, 25-25, Tennessee took the advantage by 10 points for the 67-57 UT win.