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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Forget the rivalry. Don't think about how Mississippi had dominated over the years. Enjoy the fact Mississippi State (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) did something Thursday night that had never been done before in school history -- for about a minute.
Coach Sharon Fanning has her Lady Bulldogs taking each game this season as business, pure and simple. Leave the emotion out as much as possible.
"We're really keeping away from who it is and where it's played
and trying to mature as a team," Fanning said after her Lady
Bulldogs beat Mississippi 75-59 in the opening round of the SEC
tournament, something they had never done in five previous tries.
"I know from a rivalry standpoint it's huge. You try to take
those things away. You start worrying on this is the third game.
This is your instate rival. You can either fear someone, or you can
overlook someone."
Well, the Lady Bulldogs (21-6) will take a moment to enjoy a
piece of school history. Their victory gave them a three-game sweep
this season over their instate rivals, doubling the number of games
they have won in the 58-game series.
Senior guard Nitra Perry sure enjoyed the moment.
"It felt really good. My freshman year we were really close to
beating them. We had an injury. It felt real good to beat them,"
she said of Ole Miss, which now has lost four of the last five
games in the series.
Jennifer Fambrough had 22 points to lead Mississippi State,
which will meet 12th-ranked Auburn in Friday's quarterfinals.
LaToya Thomas, the freshman who leads the SEC in scoring with
20.7 points a game, got 15 of her 21 points in the first half as
Mississippi State built a 39-32 lead. She scored four of the first
six points in the second half as the Lady Bulldogs jumped ahead
45-32.
Cynthia Hall added 11 for Mississippi State, and Angela Harris
had 10.
Twelfth-seeded Ole Miss, which ended the season by losing 11 of
its last 12 games, tried to rally against the fifth-seeded Lady
Bulldogs. Gretchen Von Kirk hit two 3-pointers in an 8-2 spurt,
pulling Ole Miss within 50-44 at the 14:52 mark.
But Ole Miss couldn't overcome its mistakes. The Lady Rebels
turned the ball over 19 times, which Mississippi State turned into
16 points in building its lead to as much as 20.
"We created a hole we couldn't quite get out of," Ole Miss
coach Ron Aldy said. "The slow start set the tone for the whole
second half."
Frankie Boyd scored 12 points for Ole Miss before fouling out.
Von Kirk had 11.
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Mississippi State Clubhouse
Mississippi Clubhouse
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