RUSTON ? Louisiana Tech will host its biggest out of conference game of the season Sunday afternoon when the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs enter the Thomas Assembly Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

The game will mark the fourth in eight days for the 12th-ranked Lady Techsters (5-1) who started the grueling stretch last Sunday against No. 3 ranked Tennessee before defeating UALR Tuesday and Southern on Thursday.

Mississippi State boasts one of the nation?s top guards in junior Tan White, who is a preseason first team All-Southeastern Conference selection. The 5-foot-7-inch White is averaging 13.2 points per game and has recorded double digit scoring efforts in 63 of 68 career games.

?Tan White is one of the best players in the country,? said Tech head coach Kurt Budke. ?She is a big-time scorer and a very good rebounder for someone her size. We will have to do a good job against her defensively if we want to be successful.?

Junior guard Tiania Burns leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring, averaging 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest and recorded her second career double double in Mississippi State?s last game against South Alabama.

?This is a very dangerous Mississippi State basketball team,? Budke said. ?They are well-coached and have some great athletes. They been to six straight postseason tournaments so they know how to win. It will be a big challenge for us.?

Tech boasts five players averaging double figures led by the inside tandem of Amisha Carter (15.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Trina Frierson (14.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg). Defensively, the Lady Techsters are led by sophomore guard Tasha Crain, who is tied for first in the Western Athletic Conference averaging 3.0 steals per game.

Tech leads the series against Mississippi State 2-1, including an 83-65 win over the Lady Bulldogs during the 2000-01 season.

The game can be heard on KXKZ-FM 107.5 and via the Internet at www.z1075fm.com with the pregame show starting at 1:30 p.m. Tech fans nationwide can also watch and listen to the game streamed over the Internet via BulldogVision by logging onto www.latechsports.com and clicking on the BulldogVision link.