MSU Women's Hoops Drops 75-47 Decision To South Carolina
* Official Statistics (PDF)
COLUMBIA, S.C. ?€“ South Carolina manufactured a 10-0 scoring run in the final five minutes of the opening half to extend its lead to 15 points at the intermission en route to USC's 75-47 win over Mississippi State in women's hoops activity in Columbia, S.C. Thursday night.
The loss extends the Lady Bulldog's losing slump to 11 games. The margin of games ties a school record for consecutive defeats.
State missed its last nine shots of the first 20 minutes, while the Gamecocks took advantage of opportunities at the free throw line, connecting on 11-of-13 from the charity stripe. The Lady Bulldogs evened the score at 12 apiece with 14:00 minutes deep in to the game, but the Garnett and Black took control of the game from that point on.
They (South Carolina) have won six of their last seven and are playing really hot right now, said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning. We lost our composure and fight a couple of times during the game and they made some runs.
USC continued its hot shooting after the intermission break, extending the 15-point lead to 43-26 at the 13:00 minute mark. The Gamecocks finished the game shooting 56 percent from the field, while holding the MState to just 29 shooting. USC's Melanie Johnson led all scorers with 16 points. She was one of four Gamecocks to reach double figures in the scoring column. USC extended the lead out to 23 points at the 6:15 mark of the closing stanza.
Sophomore Miayorka Johnson led the Maroon and White with 14 points in her 34 minutes of action. She connected on 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. Freshman Robin Porter contributed 13 points. Senior Mamie McKinney pulled down six rebounds in the contest. Freshman Lauren Roberts earned her ninth career start Thursday night due to the suspension of senior forward Blessing Chekwa, who was suspended due to team policy violations.
State closes out the regular season with a trip to Baton Rouge, La. to face 3rd-ranked LSU on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The MSU-LSU matchup can be seen live on Fox Sports Net TV.