The Mississippi State Lady Bulldog basketball team lost to in-state rival Southern Mississippi, 64-57. With the win USM snapped a four-game losing streak to Mississippi State.
Southern Miss, who led 30-26 at the half, led 58-44 with 4:13 left in the game, when State (1-4) began its comeback and outscored USM 13-3 over four minutes, cutting the lead to three points, 60-57, but Eagles’ Kendra Reed sealed the game when she hit two free throws with 12 seconds remaining.
Reed led all scorers with a game-high 22 points. Natasha Henderson led State with a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“I am very pleased at the way we fought back and played down the stretch,” said head coach Sharon Fanning. “I am disappointed in terms of the way that we started off the game. This is a huge disappointment in terms of the way we played and in terms of the percentages.”
The Lady Eagles finished the game shooting 38.7 percent from the field and 61.9 percent from the line. Both squads combined for 57 turnovers on the night. MSU scored 29 of its total points from bench players.
MSU travels to Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday to face Florida State in a 3:30 p.m. match-up to be televised on Sun Sports.