Dec. 12, 2009

Box Score | Photo Gallery

RUSTON - Mississippi State used a 15-0 run midway through the second half to erase a 10-point deficit and defeat Louisiana Tech 72-68 before 1,930 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center Saturday night.

After an Adrienne Johnson free throw at the 10:16 mark of the second half gave the Lady Techsters (4-3) a 49-39 lead, Alexis Rack scored 11 points in a 15-0 Lady Bulldogs run over the next three-plus minutes as Mississippi State (6-3) took a 54-49 advantage.

The Lady Bulldogs upped the advantage to 57-51 on a Tysheka Grimes three-pointer at the 5:43 mark of the final period before LA Tech used a Tarkeisha Wysinger conventional three-point play and a Tiawana Pringle three-point shot to tie the game at 57-57 with under four minutes to play.

With the game tied at 61-61 on a Johnson layup with 2:12 to play, Mississippi State guard Armelie Lumanu started a 7-0 run for the Lady Bulldogs with a layup as State grabbed a 68-61 advantage with less than a minute remaining.

However, Tech would not go away quietly as Pringle scored seven straight points, including her second three-pointer of the game with 24 seconds to play as the Lady Techsters pulled to within 70-68. Lumanu sealed the win for State with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left as Mississippi State won for the third straight time in the series.

The story of the night for Tech was missed opportunities as the Lady Techsters lost despite shooting 49 percent (25-51) from the field and holding Mississippi State to only 34 percent (22-64) shooting. Tech also outrebounded the bigger Lady Bulldogs team 41-34.

However, Tech was doomed by 24 turnovers and the hot-hand of Rack, who ended the night with 32 points, including 20 points in the final half of play.

Rack, who entered the game averaging 19.1 points a contest, hit 9-of-20 shots, including 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, while also connecting on 9-of-12 free throws. She also added six steals as State recorded 17 steals in the contest.

The first half saw the two teams trade the lead five times. Rack gave State a 22-17 lead on a three-pointer with 7:06 to play in the opening half before the Lady Techsters finished on a 14-5 run sparked by eight points from Johnson.

Tech opened the second half strong pushing its lead to 39-32 when Grimes was assessed a technical foul after arguing following being called for a personal foul going for a loose basketball with Johnson. However, Johnson hit only 1-of-2 free throws on the technical and then missed the front end of the one-and-one as the Lady Techsters were only able to extend the lead to eight points on the play.

For the game, Johnson led Tech with 18 points and seven rebounds while Shanavia Dowdell added 16 points and eight rebounds. Pringle scored all 12 of her points in the final five minutes of the game.

Lumanu added 20 points for Mississippi State.

LA Tech hosts McNeese State Wednesday at 7 p.m.