Lady Bulldogs Host South Carolina Sunday Looking To Snap Six-Game Losing Skid
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Starting a four-game homestand, the Mississippi StateLady Bulldogs (6-15, 1-7 SEC) host the South Carolina Gamecocks (11-8, 2-5SEC) on Sunday, Feb. 5 at Humphrey Coliseum. In honor of the 20th annualNational Girls' and Women In Sports Day, youths 18 and under are allowedfree admission when accompanied by an adult this Sunday.
State is still searching for that second conference win this season, havinglost the last six games. MSU fell at Auburn, 74-44, last Sunday to drop to1-4 on the road in the SEC. The Lady Bulldogs were led by seniorguard/forward Blessing Chekwa for the first time this season with aseason-high 13 points.
Senior guard/forward Robin Porter is leading State in the points columnaveraging 10.4 points per game. She is on track to become just the fifthLady Bulldog freshman to complete the season leading an MSU women'sbasketball team in scoring average. Senior forward Mamie McKinney is MSU'sleading rebounder with 6.1 rebounds per game.
MSU owns the overall series record vs. the Gamecocks, 11-6, including thelast three meetings. The Lady Bulldogs took the meeting last season inColumbia, 55-48, to open up the SEC season. State holds a 7-1 advantagewhen hosting South Carolina in Starkville.
South Carolina has picked up two wins in the conference over Arkansas(61-52) and at Alabama (67-48). The Gamecocks are 1-2 on the road in theSEC. USC went 9-3 in non-conference play including a 79-61 defeat over No.14 Minnesota. They also fell to ranked Purdue (56-48) in November. Juniorguard Stacy Booker is the lone Gamecock averaging double digits with 10.1points per game while junior forward Iva Sliskovic is pulling down 6.0rebounds per game. South Carolina went 8-21 last season and finished 12thin the SEC. They returned all 11 letterwinners to the 2005-06 squad.
Next up the Lady Bulldogs will stay home to host Florida on Thursday, Feb. 9at 6 p.m. CT to be televised on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.
National Girls' and Women In Sports DayIn honor of the 20th annual National Girls' and Women in Sports Day, theMississippi State Lady Bulldogs invite all youths 18 and under to the Feb. 5contest vs. South Carolina for free admission when accompanied by an adult.All teams, squads, troops, etc. are encouraged to have their kids dress intheir respective group jerseys and sit together. There will be door prizes,poster-making stations, and a health and sports fair in the outer concourseof Humphrey Coliseum available for the entire family. This event is one ofmore than 1,000 events taking place in honor of the 20th Annual NationalGirls' and Women in Sports Day, as declared by Congress.