The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs’ (14-9, 5-4 SEC) four-game winning streak came to an end Sunday evening after a 63-57 defeat at the hands of the Auburn Tigers (17-7, 4-4). It was the Tigers first win in Starkville since 1994.
The game started on a good note for the Lady Bulldogs with a steal by Bethany Washington that lead to a Tysheka Grimes 3-pointer.
The Tigers then went on a 12-2 run but then the Bulldog clamped down on defense to even things back up.
The game was physical from the start, especially when Auburn center Keke Carrier entered the game.
Auburn had a 36-24 lead at the end of the first half and were led by forward Jordan Greenleaf with 10 points, two blocks and five rebounds.
Forward Dewanna Bonner had 12 points and six rebounds.
State was led by Robin Porter, who had six points and five boards at the half.
Alex Rack and Grimes chipped in with five apiece.
AU controlled the paint with 28 rebounds and nine blocks in the first half.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates smoking and went on a 10-3 run, but the Tigers kept their scoring up.
“We talked about fundamentals and went into a full-court press,” MSU head coach Sharon Fanning said. “We got winded, though. I tried to strategically call timeouts so that we would not get tired from pressing … I wish we could have kept our early second half intensity longer.”
Once the final buzzer sounded, the Tigers were led by DeWanna Bonner’s 19 points and five boards, while State forward Imesia Jackson carried the Bulldogs with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Guard Robin Porter added 12 points and eight boards.
The Lady Bulldogs finished the game shooting only 33.9 percent from the field.
“I think that anytime you get good shots it does not have anything to do with the defense, because it is a good shot that you take,” Jackson said. “It is just that sometimes they do not fall.
“The way I look at it is that a good shot is a good shot, but sometimes they just will not fall.”
The Lady Bulldogs were also off pace of their 10-steal average, only taking away five on the day.
The Lady Bulldogs will have a chance to recover Thursday when they face Savannah State (8-14), a welcome sight to the conference-weary team.
Coach Fanning warns against looking over anyone, pointing to Sunday’s game as an example.
“We got out-worked today because our focus was not where it was supposed to be,” she said. “We need to play with focus and be concerned about how the Lady Bulldogs will be a better basketball team this Thursday. We better be ready to play whether it is a conference game or not.