Feb. 19, 2004
Mississippi State picked up a key Southeastern Conference victory Thursday night with a 72-62 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks at Humphrey Coliseum. USC will host Georgia Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at the Colonial Center.
USC opened the game with a 10-2 run to give it their largest lead of the half at eight points. Mississippi State responded with a run of its own, outscoring the visitors 13-3 to take a two-point 15-13 advantage on Jessica Carter’s three-pointer at the 10:09 mark of the opening half. They took a three-point margin in to the locker room at 25-22. Both teams had cold shooting outings in the first 20 minutes. The Gamecocks made just eight baskets on 26 attempts, while the Lady Bulldogs shot 34 percent for the half. MSU was led by junior Tan White in the first half, who registered 10 of her 32 total points.
The Maroon and White pushed its lead out to as many as 12 points with a 14-4 scoring spurt over a three-minute span. The run was sparked by Carter, who knocked down three treys to give MSU a 56-44 with 6:32 remaining. State’s biggest lead of the game was a 12-point margin. The Gamecocks trimmed that lead down to six points with under a minute to play. The Lady Bulldogs forced 22 USC miscues, turning them in to 22 points, while holding USC to just 38 percent shooting for the game.
Kelly Morrone led the Gamecocks (10-14, 1-10 SEC) with 15 points on five treys. Sarah Burgess finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
