February 2000 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

02/29/00 - Please show your support by attending tonight's MSU/Kentucky game. Our team has played with a tremendous amount of effort through some very difficult situations this year. It is only fitting that we show them we appreciate their efforts by attending the game. Game time is 8:00 p.m. The game is on ESPN for those of you who are too far away to attend.

02/29/00 - Here is an interesting piece of info:

According to one of you who did a little research on MSU's women's basketball team's chances of hosting an NCAA post-season tournament, if MSU defeats Ole Miss and Auburn in the upcoming SEC Tournament, they stand a legitimate shot of hosting a tournament. Their main competition is most likely Auburn, according to my source. When you compare the two, MSU's RPI is higher than Auburn's. With a win over Auburn in the tournament, they will maintain their higher RPI. MSU drew more fans in SEC games than Auburn; about 2,500 to 2,100. Both teams had one game where they drew over 5,000 fans. Even if you throw that game out, MSU still leads in attendance.

02/29/00 - Former MSU basketball great Erick Dampier is once again having an overnight basketball camp in Jackson, MS. this year. He is very proud of the camp, which is in its fourth year, and takes a lot of pride in being able to give the kids in the state a chance to get away and enjoy themselves for a few days.

Here is a little more camp info.

This is going to be the camp's 4th year. Last year, the camp set a record with close to 285 kids attending. The camp features a variety of pro-athletes every year. Some of the past pros who have attended include Brett Favorer, Clarence Wither spoon, Grady Jackson of the Oakland Raiders, and last year Erick's general manager and now his coach Gerry St. Gene attended and spoke to the campers. Something else Erick is very proud of is 60% of the kids who attended the camp last year didn't have to pay a single penny. Erick went out and got corporate sponsors to pay for the kids who couldn't afford to pay for themselves.

Erick doesn't make any money off of this camp. He just tries to cover the expenses that he incurs running the camp. His entire reason for the camp is to give back to the kids in Mississippi.

The camp runs from June 8th, 9th, and 10th, and is held at Millsaps College in Jackson. The age range is from 8 to 18 years old, and it is for boys and girls. Coach Thomas Billups, head basketball coach at Lanier High School, is the Camp Director.

I will have additional info in about a week if you have a child who would like to attend.

The camp is in need of corporate sponsors so if your company would like to sponsor a youngster or even several youngsters, the person you will need to contact is Don Weatherall. His phone number is 601-264-9490. There are various incentives to corporate sponsors that Don can fill you in on.

02/28/00 - Sharon Fanning's No. 17 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs earned its first 20-win season in team history with a 63-46 decision over the Kentucky Wildcats. MSU (20-6, 8-6) earned the fifth seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, which will be held March 2-6 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Kentucky (14-13, 5-9) jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Lady Bulldogs scored its first bucket on a jumper by Nitra Perry with 16:40 remaining in the half. The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 16-2 run over the next six minutes to take the lead. State's largest lead of the half was nine, at 33-24. MSU held a 33-26 advantage at the break.

Mississippi State pulled away in the second half by holding Kentucky to 31-percent shooting (6-of-19). The Lady Bulldogs shot 11-of-27 in the half. The 63-46 final deficit was the largest lead of the game for the Maroon and White.

LaToya Thomas led Mississippi State once again with a 19-point effort on 8-of-17 shooting. Nitra Perry scored 17 and led the team in rebounding with nine boards. Angela Harris poured in 10 and led the team in assists with four.

LaTonya McDole (11 points) and Natalie Martinez (10 points) scored in double-figures for Kentucky.

Both teams struggled from three-point range, with MSU shooting 29 percent and UK shooting 18 percent. The two teams tied each other in the rebounding department, with 35 each. State shot 40 percent from the field and held Kentucky to 38-percent shooting. MSU forced 22 UK turnovers while committing only 12.

Mississippi State will face intra-state rival Mississippi Thursday at 7 p.m. (EST) in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. If State wins, it will face fourth-seeded Auburn Friday, also at 7 p.m. (EST). First-seeded Georgia, eighth-seeded Alabama and ninth-seeded Kentucky round out the Mississippi State side of the bracket.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/27/00 - No. 15 Louisiana State, paced by a pair of 18-point efforts by Stromile Swift and Lamont Roland, held off a late rally to extend its winning streak to seven games by defeating Mississippi State 71-66 Saturday afternoon at the Maravich Assembly Center.

Swift recorded a double-double, grabbing 11 board. Torris Bright and Jabari Smith added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Mississippi State held a 38-37 lead at halftime, but the Tigers jumped out to a seven-point advantage in the second half before the Bulldogs tied the game at 63 with 2:44 remaining. LSU extended its lead to six after a technical foul was assessed to State's bench, thus securing the victory.

"LSU is a great basketball team," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "We did not win this game, but I could not be more proud of the effort that they played with. They kept fighting and we had a chance to win this game."

Tang Hamilton led State with 16 points while Antonio Jackson added 14 for the Bulldogs. Michael Gholar chipped in double figure scoring with 10 points.

State was the last team to hand LSU a loss, doing so on Feb. 2 with a 68-66 victory in Starkville.

The Bulldogs will return to action on Tuesday, when they host Kentucky at Humphrey Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally as part of ESPN's "Super Tuesday" package.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/26/00 - The men's basketball team takes on the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge today. Game time is set for 4 p.m. The game will be televised by SEC-TV. Check you local listing to see if it will be televised in your area.

02/25/00 - Just thought you guys would enjoy seeing a picture of the Stansbury baby. Click here to see him and his mother and daddy. Click here to see him and his daddy.

02/24/00 - Before getting to my game write-up, I would like to clear something up. I talked to MSU assistant basketball coach Robert Kirby after the game last night. He wanted me to help clear up some rumors that were going around about Tyrus Boswell. He told me he had heard a rumor that Tyrus had failed a drug test, which he said is not true. The actual reason Tyrus is not playing is because he really is having migraine headaches. They doctors have performed tests on Tyrus to find out why he continues to have these migraine headaches and, at the present time, have not come up with a reason. The doctors do not want him to play in games because they are concerned that it could be dangerous for Tyrus to do so. I have no doubt whatsoever, after talking to Coach Kirby, that this is the truth as to why Tyrus is not playing.

I also had the chance to talk to Derrick Zimmerman's dad last night. He said there is no truth to the rumor that Derrick is thinking about transferring. I know some of you have heard this rumor, so I thought I would ask him if there was anything to it. Now on to my game write-up.

The MSU men's and women's basketball teams, for the time in MSU history, completed a four-game basketball season sweep of the Ole Miss Rebels with the men's 80-67 victory last night.

The Bulldogs took an early 2-0 lead with a bucket at the 19:17 mark, but the Rebels erased that with layup by Marcus Hicks, then took a 3-pt lead, 5-2, with a 3-pntr by Jason Flanigan. Ole Miss kept the lead during most of the 1st half. MSU finally pulled ahead with 2:22 showing on the clock, but Ole Miss got the lead back, 30-29, with a jumper by Marcus Hicks at the 6 seconds mark on the 1st half clock. That was to be the last score of the first half.

Ole Miss' Marcus Hicks led all scorers with 10 pts in the 1st half. Syniker Taylor also had 5 pts for the Rebels. MSU was led in scoring by Michael Gholar with 8 pts (3-5 from the field, including 2 of 2 from 3-pt land). Antonio Jackson was the second leading scorer with 7 pts. Robert Jackson had 5. Gholar and Jackson led both teams in rebounds with 6 each. Gholar also had 2 steals. In facts, his steals were the only two steals in the 1st half.

MSU came out in the second half to get the lead back on a couple of buckets (a dunk and a 3-pntr) by Antonio Jackson. After pulling ahead by 8 pts (43-35) with 15:26 on the clock, MSU let their lead slip away when Ole Miss went on an 8-pt run. With 13:38 left on the clock, Ole Miss and MSU were tied at 43-43.

MSU then very slowly got the 8-pt lead back with 5:53 on the 2nd half clock. From then on, MSU continued to pull a little farther ahead until they finally won the game 80-67.

MSU was led in scoring by Robert Jackson who had a total of 17 pts. Other double digit scorers for MSU were Antonio Jackson with 15 pts, Tang Hamilton with 14 and Michael Gholar with 12. Gholar ended up with 9 rebounds, 3 steals and was perfect from the free-throw line (2-2) and from 3-pt range (2-2).

Other players who scored for MSU were Todd Myles with 8, Marckell Patterson with 7, Derrick Zimmerman with 5 and Quentin Smith with 2. Zimmerman also had 4 assists, 3 blocks and 5 rebounds. Myles led both team with 7 assists.

MSU, after shooting a dismal 37.9% from the field in the 1st half, ended up shooting 50.9% for the game after shooting 66.7% from the field in the second half. MSU shot 54.5% (6-11) from the 3-pt line and 71.4% (20-28) from the free-throw line.

The attendance for the game was 8,534.

MSU will travel to Baton Rouge this coming Saturday to take on the very hot LSU Tigers. Game time is set for 4 p.m. and will be televised by SEC-TV. Check your local listing to see if it will be televised in your area.

02/23/00 - MSU plays Ole Miss tonight in the Hump. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Please show your support by attending the game.

02/22/00 - The MSU women's basketball team is ranked 17th in the USA Today poll and ranked 20th in the AP poll.

02/21/00 - The No. 18 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (19-6, 7-6) defeated the Florida Lady Gators (15-10, 5-7) 66-57 as MSU honored its seniors in a pre-game ceremony.

"There were a lot of nerves jumping out there today," said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning. "We played this game with a lot of emotion, coming off our last game against Tennessee, as well as it being the senior’s last home game."

In a game marred by dismal shooting (MSU 37.9 percent, UF 35.4 percent), MSU senior guard Nitra Perry led the scoring on both squads with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Perry also pulled in ten rebounds to record her fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore forward Jennifer Fambrough added 18 points while the Lady Gators held SEC’s leading scorer, freshman forward LaToya Thomas, to ten.

The Lady Bulldogs held a narrow five point advantage, 54-49, before Fambrough hit a key three-pointer that put MSU up by eight, 57-49. After shooting a dreary 25.7 percent from the field and 14.3 percent behind the arch in the opening period, Fanning’s squad managed to turn things around in the second period and shoot 51.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent behind the three-point line.

Senior forward Tiffany Travis led Florida in scoring finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds. Two other Lady Gators, senior forward Tonya Washington and sophomore center Naomi Mobley, scored in double figures adding 14 and 13, respectively.

Mississippi State travels to Lexington, Ky., on Sunday, Feb. 27, to take on the Lady Wildcats in the final regular season contest of the 1999-2000 season.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department media relations department

02/20/00 - Click here to see a boxscore of last night's MSU 88 to 58 loss to Florida.

02/20/00 - Durant's Timothy Lattiker info after one of you watched him against Union HS this past Thursday night.

"In my opinion he was not as much of a slasher as I had thought. He mainly hung around the wings and top of the key, outside the three-point line. He can shoot the ball with consistency. He hit five or six three-pointers out of about ten attempts. He seems to be more of a pure shooter with a lot of range. He had 22 points in the game."

According to my source, Timothy will go the juco route, then sign with MSU after juco.

02/20/00 - No. 18 Mississippi State will look to rebound from a close loss to Tennessee Thursday, hosting the Lady Gators Sunday at 2 p.m. MSU (18-6, 6-6) lost to the Lady Vols 79-75, in a game in which State led until the final seconds of the game. The Lady Bulldogs are 0-3 in their last three SEC games, with one non-conference win wedged in the schedule against Albany. In its last three outings, Florida (15-9, 5-6) has beaten Arkansas and Mississippi and lost to Tennessee.

Freshman phenom LaToya Thomas continues to lead State in the scoring and rebounding departments (21.3 ppg, 8.0 rbg). She is 10th in the nation and leads the SEC in scoring. Thomas' counterparts in double-digit scoring are Jennifer Fambrough (14.0 ppg), Cynthia Hall (13.5 ppg) and Nitra Perry (11.3 ppg).

The Lady Gators are led by Tiffany Travis and Tonya Washington, who are each averaging 17.2 points per contest. Naomi Mobley is also in double-figure scoring (10.5 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (8.5 rpg).

The series between MSU and Florida is tied at 11. Florida won the last matchup 85-72 in MSU's first SEC game of the 1999-2000 season. Last year's contest was a convincing 68-56 Lady Bulldog victory in Starkville.

Sunday's contest marks the last regular-season home game for the Lady Bulldogs. Seniors will be honored for their career achievements and representation of Mississippi State University prior to tipoff. Former Lady Bulldogs will also be in attendance for Alumni Day.

State is taking part in the national Take A Kid to the Game promotion in which kids ranging from kindergarten to seniors in high school will be admitted free into the game with a paid adult.

MSU is also hosting Discovery Day this weekend for prospective students in high school to come to the campus and participate in a series of events. With all the excitement surrounding the weekend, State hopes to break last game's attendance mark (5,863), the largest attended women's basketball game in the state of Mississippi.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department media relations department

02/18/00 - In front of the largest crowd (5,863) to attend a women's basketball game in the history of the state of Miss., the No. 18 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (18-6, 6-6) were narrowly defeated 79-75 by the No. 2 Tennessee Lady Vols (22-3, 10-1).

Coach Sharon Fanning's squad led 75-74 with 22 seconds remaining when Tennessee freshman guard Kara Lawson handed the Lady Vols the win with a three-pointer, with one second remaining on the clock. MSU led by as many as eight with under four minutes remaining but lethal free-throw shooting by the Lady Vols, 94.7 percent for the game, helped seal the win.

"This team had not been there before. Sure, we beat Louisiana Tech, but when you take this time of year and this caliber team, this is another step for us," said Fanning. "We lead for basically the entire basketball game, but you could see the confidence Tennesee had coming down the stretch."

The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by freshman standout LaToya Thomas, the SEC's leading scorer, who finished the game with 20 points. MSU junior guard Cynthia Hall punished the Lady Vols in the first half, scoring 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the behind the three-point arch but the UT defense held her in check in the second half as she finished the game with 17.

Lawson led the Lady Vols with 23 points as four UT starters finished in double figures, with Tamika Catchings scoring 19 and pulling down ten rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.

"This is the kind of basketball that we want to bring to Mississippi State," said Fanning. "We hope that we can get into a position where we can have people come see the Lady Bulldogs on a consistent basis."

Coach Fanning's squad will conclude it's three-game homestand this Sunday against the University of Florida Lady Gators at 2 p.m. The game against UF marks the last regular season home game for the Lady Bulldogs. The seniors will be honored for their laurels achieved during their careers. Mississippi State will also recognize former Lady Bulldogs, who return for alumni weekend. MSU is also taking part in the national Take A Kid To The Game promotion, where kids kindergarten through 12th grade are admitted free to the contest with a paid adult.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department media relations department

02/17/00 - Click here to read an ESPN recap of last night's MSU 68-67 loss to South Carolina at Columbia.

02/16/00 - Thanks to Tuscaloosa News' sports editor Cecil Hurt for this info.

In the Alabama High School sub-state playoffs this Friday night (7 p.m.), Mario Austin's (MSU signee) Sumter County team will host Childersburg, with Alabama signee and Top-5 national player Gerald Wallace. The game is at York, Alabama, which is an easy drive for fans in the Meridian/East Mississippi area. If you plan on attending, get there early since it will be a fast and hard sellout.

02/16/00 - Don't forget, the men's basketball team plays at South Carolina tonight.

Also, don't forget that the women's basketball team plays Tennessee Thursday night at the Hump. This may very well be the biggest game in MSU women's basketball history. Please be there if at all possible.

02/15/00 - For those of you who are worried that MSU basketball signee Mario Austin is a likely NBA lottery pick and may declare for the draft, please click here to read what the experts are saying about this year's draft and what high schoolers are possible lottery picks.

02/13/00 (7:15 p.m.) - The No. 17 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (18-5, 6-5) used a fast start Sunday, jumping out to a 24-6 lead to defeat the University at Albany Great Danes (8-15) 84 to 34, in the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Freshman forward LaToya Thomas, the SEC's leading scorer, dominated the first half pouring in 18 of her 27 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field and five-of-seven shooting from the free-throw line. The Lady Bulldog defense turned up the heat in the opening period forcing the Great Danes into 15 turnovers to lead 44-16 at the halfway point.

"We were pleased to come out with consistent play," said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning. "We are still trying to key in on fundamentals. It's really not how much you beat a team by, it's whether you win or lose. It's also whether or not you are becoming more consistent. That is something you have to be able to do in the SEC."

The Lady Bulldog defense did not let up in the second half either as MSU held Albany to 22.2 percent shooting from the floor and 11.8 percent from behind the three-point arch. State also held the Great Dane’s leading scorer, Megan Buchanan (15.7 ppg), scoreless the entire 40 minutes.

Sophomore forward Jennifer Fambrough scored double figures for the maroon and white finishing with 17 points, including nine-of-ten shooting from the charity stripe and five offensive rebounds. Senior guard Nitra Perry led all Lady Bulldogs in rebounding with 12.

Junior guard Liz Tucker led the scoring for the Great Danes in the matchup of the two canine squads tossing in 14.

State's victory extended its home winning streak to 18-games against non-conference opponents at Humphrey Coliseum.

Coach Fanning's squad will continue its three-game homestand this Thursday night at 7 p.m. as the Lady Bulldogs take on the No. 2 Tennessee Lady Vols.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/13/00 - In one of their worst performances of the year, our men's basketball team lost to Arkansas 87 to 81. Click here to read what the official MSU site had to say about the loss.....

02/13/00 - Sharon Fanning's No. 17 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs will look to get back on the winning track following a road loss to Vanderbilit as they host Albany Sunday at 2:00. The Lady Bulldogs are 17-5 overall and 6-5 in the Southeastern Conference. Albany, who hails from Albany, New York, enters the contest with an 8-14 mark.

Mississippi State, who is 11-1 at home this season, is led in the scoring column by freshman standout LaToya Thomas of Greenville, Miss. Thomas is pouring in 21 points per contest and also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 8.3 boards per game. Jennifer Fambrough is averaging 13.9 points per game and Cynthia Hall is contributing 13.6. Nitra Perry rounds out the double-figure scorers with 11.9 points per contest. Perry is second on the team in rebounding, with a 7.7 board average.

Two individual records were broken by Mississippi State players Thursday night in Nashville. Cynthia Hall broke the single-season three-point field-goal record by netting five threes against the Lady Commodores to push her three-point field goal total to 55, three more than LaCharlotte Smith, who set the record in the 1995 season. Angela Harris broke the career assists mark, also set by Smith with 406 during the 1993-96 seasons, by dishing out six to bring her total to 409.

The Lady Bulldogs are averaging 80.9 points per contest while giving up 63.4. State is shooting nearly 49 percent from the fieldwhile its opponents are shooting less than 40 percent from the field.

The Maroon and White will continue its three-game homestand Thursday by hosting No. 2 Tennessee at 7 p.m. State will then host Florida (Feb. 20) before closing out the regular season at Kentucky February 27th.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/11/00 - Sharon Fanning's No. 17 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs could not overcome a second half surge by Vanderbilt in a key Southeastern Conference match-up in Nashville. MSU shot 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) in the second half after shooting 55 percent before halftime. Vanderbilt (16-8, 4-5) shot 47 percent overall and overcame a 32-30 halftime deficit to notch the win.

State (17-5, 6-5) scored the game's first seven points and raced to a 17-7 lead, the longest of the half, at the 10:57 mark. The Lady Commodores tied it at 21, then took a brief 30-29 lead with less than a minute to play in the half, before Mississippi State took it back before the break on a three pointer by Cynthia Hall. The game see-sawed back-and-forth in the second half before Vanderbilt took the lead for good, at 41-40, with 12:56 remaining.

Vanderbilt, which did not shoot a free-throw in the first half, went to the line 28 times in the second half and converted 23 (82 percent). MSU shot 12-of-15 from the charity stripe and was outrebounded by the Lady Commodores 19-12 in the second stanza. Vanderbilt held a 29-24 edge for the game in the rebounding department. Mississippi State turned the ball over 16 times, while Vanderbilt commited just 10.

LaToya Thomas and Cynthia Hall paced Mississippi State with 19 points, each. Thomas pulled down 10 rebounds for her team-leading sixth double-double. Hall, who was 5-of-11 from three-point range, broke the Mississippi State single-season record for three-pointers made. She currently has 55 three-point goals, three better than the previous record, set by LaCharlotte Smith in the 1995 season. Angela Harris, who scored eight points and dished out six assists, broke the Mississippi State career assists record. Her 409 is also three better than LaChalotte Smith's old mark of 406, set during the 1993-96 seasons.

Vanderbilt was led by four players in double-figures. Zuzi Klimesova led the Lady Commodores with 15 points and 10 boards. Chavonne Hammond contributed 14 points, Jillian Danker poured in 13 and Jennifer Holmes added 10.

The Lady Bulldogs will try to rebound with a three-game homestand which begins Sunday versus Albany at 2 p.m. State will then host No. 2 Tennessee (Feb. 17) and Florida (Feb. 20) before closing out the regular season at Kentucky (Feb. 27).

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/10/00 - Mississippi State had several opportunities, but time ran out on the Bulldogs as they dropped a 65-64 decision to No. 22 Vanderbilt Wednesday at Memorial Gym.

Derrick Zimmerman stole a Commodore pass with 18 seconds left, but Tang Hamilton's drive to the basket was tied up by a Vanderbilt defender. State got another opportunity with a Robert Jackson 10-foot jumper with two seconds remaining, but the shot fell short, giving the Commodores their sixth conference win.

The SEC's leading scorer, Dan Langhi led Vanderbilt (16-4, 6-3) with 21 points. James Strong added 13 while Sam Howard netted 11 off the bench.

"There is a lot we can learn from a game like this," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "This loss was not due to a lack of effort. We played as hard as you can expect to play here."

Mississippi State (12-10, 3-6) was led by Marckell Patterson, who scored 13 points off the bench. Antonio Jackson scored 12 on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

The first half was back and forth, with neither team holding more than a five-point lead. Howard hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give Vanderbilt a 31-28 lead at halftime.

The Commodores jumped out to a 38-33 lead early in the second frame before the Bulldogs went on a 11-3 run to take a 44-43 lead with 12:40 remaining. Vanderbilt answered with a 12-1 run before State fought back to tie the score at 56 with 4:52 left in the game.

The Bulldogs will return to Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday when they will face SEC West rival Arkansas. The game, set for 2 p.m., will be televised regionally by Charlotte, N.C.-based Jefferson-Pilot Sports.

Don't forget that the Lady Bulldogs also take on Vanderbilt. Their game is tonight at 7 p.m in Nashville.

02/07/00 - MSU's men's basketball team, playing their third straight ranked opponent, lost to 6th ranked Tennessee 88-81 yesterday behind the 24-point output of 2-guard Tony Harris. Click here to read the official MSU write-up of the game.....

MSU will take on their 4th straight top-25 ranked opponent when they travel to Nashville to play the Vanderbilt Commodores this Wednesday at 7 p.m.

02/07/00 - MSU's women's basketball team took it on the chin yesterday with a 83 to 67 loss to the 2nd ranked Georgia Bulldogs at Athens, GA. Click here to read the official MSU write-up of the game......

02/06/00 - MSU's men's team takes on Tennessee today at noon. For those of you who can't attend the game, it will be televised on CBS-TV. Please attend the game if at all possible. This is an extremely important game for MSU.

02/05/00 - Sharon Fanning's No. 19 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs are in the midst of a three-game road swing. The Lady Bulldogs (17-3, 6-3) are coming off a 66-60 win at arch-rival Mississippi Thursday.

Meanwhile, No. 2 Georgia, 22-2 overall, 7-1 in the SEC, is coming off an 81-76 overtime victory over Florida Thursday. UGA's two losses have come against LSU (80-74) on Dec. 2 and Illinois (82-65) on Jan. 2. Georgia is riding an eight-game winning streak and is 5-1 in Athens.

Georgia leads the series 14-6, although Mississippi State has won two of the last three contests. MSU won, 78-72, in Starkville on Jan. 31, 1999 over the No. 4 UGA Lady Bulldogs and won 79-75, in Athens on Feb. 1, 1998 over the No. 17 UGA squad. Georgia has a 6-2 mark in Athens.

Freshman standout LaToya Thomas continues to lead Mississippi State in scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). The Greenville, Miss. native leads the SEC and is among the nation's leaders in the scoring department. Jennifer Fambrough (14.3 ppg), Cynthia Hall (14.0 ppg) and Nitra Perry (11.9 ppg) join Thomas in double-figures.

MSU is averaging 82.5 points per contest and is outscoring its opponents by over 20 points per game. State is shooting 49.1 percent from the floor while holding its opponents to 38.9 percent shooting.

UGA is averaging 81.1 points per outing while allowing its opponents 62.9 points per contest. Georgia is shooting 47.2 percent from the field and allowing its opponents to shoot at a 37.9 percent clip.

Georgia has four players averaging double-digits in scoring. Kelly Miller leads the Red and White with 16.0 points per game while her twin Coco Miller is averaging 14.5 points per outing. Tawana McDonald is next in line with 13.2 points per contest and is leading the UGA Lady Bulldogs in rebounding, grabbing 9.1 boards per game. Deana Nolan rounds out the top four, chipping in 11.8 points per contest.

The Lady Bulldogs continue their road swing at Vanderbilt on Feb. 10 before returning home for three straight.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/04/00 - Sharon Fanning's No. 19 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, in search of its first win ever at Tad Smith Coliseum. They got it, 66-60, behind a 22-point effort from freshman standout LaToya Thomas. The win completes a two-game sweep over the Lady Rebels (11-9, 0-7) this season.

The Lady Bulldogs (17-3, 6-3) led 40-24 with 17:16 remaining, but had to fend off a late Mississippi rally that saw the Lady Rebels get within five, at 63-58, with 1:30 left to play. State's Angela Harris and LaToya Thomas converted free-throws down the stretch to seal the victory. The Lady Bulldogs scored the first 10 points of the game and led 34-15, at the 4:31 mark. MSU led 38-22 at half-time.

Joining Thomas in double-figures for Mississippi State were Harris (12 points) and Cynthia Hall (10 points). Thomas scored her 22 points by shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Nitra Perry, who scored 9 points on the night, became the eleventh player in Lady Bulldog history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Meadow Overstreet (5 points), Barbara Thomas (4 points) and Courtney Graham (4 points) also entered the scoring column for the Maroon and White.

Frankie Boyd led Mississippi with 21 points and nine rebounds. Chandra Dorsey netted 12 points while shooting 2-of-5 from behind the arc.

MSU shot 50 percent from the field while holding the Lady Rebels to 38-percent shooting. State shot 6-of-14 from three-point range and shot 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the free-throw line. During the pivotal first half, the Lady Bulldogs shot 58 percent from the field and held Mississippi to 29 percent, but shot just 40 percent (8-of-20) in the second half. The Lady Rebels held the edge on the boards, out-rebounding Mississippi State 37-34.

"It's always good to get a win on the road in the SEC," Fanning said. "I realize the history of this game with the two rivals. We didn't play our best basketball tonight but we'll take the win and run with it."

The road will not get any easier for the Lady Bulldogs. Game two of their three game road-swing is a tilt with No. 2 Georgia Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Mississippi State will visit Vanderbilt (Feb. 10) before returning home for a three-game homestand versus Albany (Feb. 13), No. 4 Tennessee (Feb. 17) and Florida (Feb. 20).

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports media relations department

02/02/00 (11:10 p.m.) - In an upset to outsiders but not to true MSU believers, the MSU Bulldogs defeated the 22nd ranked LSU Tigers 68 to 66 on 3-pointer by freshman sensation Derrick Zimmerman with 24 seconds to go in the game. Zim's shot made it 68 to 65. For a complete recap of the game, click here.

02/02/00 - MSU's men's basketball team takes on the LSU Tigers tonight at 7 p.m. Since there is no recruiting party in the Starkville area, you might as well come on out and not only watch the game but enjoy the excellent recruiting class that we will sign today.

02/01/00 - Click here to read a nice article about Yazoo County HS's girls basketball team. MSU signed three of the players on this team.

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