For the third time in four years, Tennessee guard Kara Lawson
haunted the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs. Lawson hit a running
14-foot jump shot with 0:01 on the clock to give the Lady
Volunteers a 76-75 semifinal win in the Women’s SEC Tournament.
“I will be really glad to see her graduate,” MSU head coach
Sharon Fanning said of Lawson, who finished with 32 points
including 17 in the second half, “but, I don’t think anymore than
the rest of the league is glad to see Toya (LaToya Thomas)
graduate.”
The two seniors battled throughout the entire 40-minute contest,
going shot-for-shot on many occasions. Thomas finished with 34
points including 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 10-of-10 from the
free throw line.
In the quarterfinal round, the Lady Bulldogs took on the
University of South Carolina with the Bulldogs looking for revenge
from an early season defeat. MSU led for much of the game, before
the Gamecocks made a last ditch run. The Lady Bulldogs, led by Tan
White and Doceide Warren, with 20 points each, were just too
much.
The key stat in the victory for the Bulldogs was the 56-29
rebounding difference in favor of MSU. The Lady Bulldogs also
pounded out 24 second-chance points.
Despite losing in the semifinal round in the SEC tourney, the
biggest loss of the Bulldogs was the loss of Blessing Chekwa. The
5-foot-11-inch freshman guard had become the Lady Bulldogs
defensive stopper; drawing the tough assignment of guarding the
opposing teams leading scorer. During the MSU game against
Tennessee, Chekwa fell to the floor after landing awkwardly while
attempting a jump shot. The shot fell, and so did Chekwa. Chekwa
sustained a knee injury and is not expected to return to action for
the remainder of the season.
Because of her outstanding play during the tournament, Thomas
was named to the All-SEC Tournament team. Joining the two-time SEC
player of the year on the squad were Lawson of Tennessee, Selmone
Augustus of LSU, Shemeka Christon of Arkansas and Tournament MVP
Temeka Johnson of LSU.
The awards for Thomas also continued to role in during the
break. She was named SEC Player of the Year by the leagues coaches
and the Associated Press, the 2003 Mississippi Amateur Athlete of
the Year by the Jackson Touchdown Club and was named to the United
States Basketball Writers Association All-America team. To go along
with her awards, Thomas also became the SEC leader in free throws
made during a career with her first made free throw during the SEC
Tournament. With her performance during the tournament, Thomas
moved into eighth on the NCAA career scoring list and second on the
SEC list. Her 2,930 career points, places Thomas just 95 points
from the top of the SEC chart and fourth on the NCAA list.
MSU will next be in action in NCAA Tournament action tomorrow
night in Albuquerque, N.M. when they take on Manhattan at 8:14 p.m.
(CT). The game will be carried by ESPN2.