With the score tied at 55, Tan White hit a fade-away jumper with one second left to defeat Arkansas Sunday in Humphrey Coliseum.
“(The play) was designed for me to take the last shot,” White said. “I was just able to get a decent look at the basket and knock it down.”
That last basket capped White’s game-high 30 points. This was the second time in the last four SEC games that she has scored at least 30. White poured in 33 points last week against Kentucky.
Mississippi State missed the back end of a one-and-one with 44 seconds left in the game and only up by three. Lady Razorbacks’ forward Shameka Christon knocked down a three from the wing to tie the game with 28 seconds left.
The Lady Dawgs took a 30-second timeout with 15 seconds remaining to set up the play for White, and she delivered.
Bulldog fans have come to expect big things from the junior from Tupelo. But they weren’t the only ones affected by the feat.
“Big players make big plays–and Tan certainly did that,” said Arkansas head coach Susie Gardner.
After scoring only seven points in a blowout loss at SEC West rival Auburn, White was looking to turn things around. She knows how important this win was to the team.
“This was a big win for us,” said White. “We bounced back with a really good win at home.”
Although the girls in Maroon and White failed to hit a three-pointer for the first time since 1993, they made up for it elsewhere.
The Lady Dawgs were 19 of 24 from the free-throw line while the Lady Razorbacks only took four trips to the charity stripe and made just two of those attempts.
Halftime statistics showed why the score was tied at 27 at intermission. In the first half Arkansas had 17 rebounds and State had 14. The Razorbacks had 13 turnovers in the opening half while the Dawgs turned it over 11 times.
However, in the second half the Bulldogs took better care of the ball only turning it over three times while forcing eight more turnovers for Arkansas. Bulldog coach Sharon Fanning knows how important that statistic can be.
“We were able to force some mistakes,” said Fanning. “If we can continue to capitalize on their mistakes we will continue to get better.”
After an 0-3 start in conference play the Bulldogs have won three of their last four SEC games.
“I am just very proud of our team,” said Fanning. “To get a good conference win is very important. We are continuing to progress and play better as a team.”
The Lady Bulldogs will take a break from conference play tonight at the University of New Orleans. They will resume SEC action Sunday, Feb. 8, against Ole Miss in Humphrey Coliseum.