February 2002 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

Thomas led the SEC in scoring for the third-consecutive year, averaging nearly 25 points per game. That average is fourth-best nationally. The Greenville-native also leads the squad in rebounding, averaging 9.6 boards per contest. Her 13 double-doubles this season gives her 33 for her career. Thomas ended the season on a scoring surge, scoring at least 30 points in five of her last seven games. She scored at least 40 points twice this season and poured in 30 points on nine different occasions.

The two-time Kodak All-American became MSU's all-time leading scorer during the 68th game of her career, and she became the only Lady Bulldog to reach the 2,000-point plateau when she accomplished that feat in her 88th game. She was named SEC Player of the Week three times this season, becoming the seventh player in the award's history to do so.

White is second on the squad in scoring (18.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). She leads State in assists (4.5 apg), steals (2.8 spg) and blocks (1.0 bpg). She had a 27-game double-digit scoring streak broken in the last game of the regular season when she scored just eight points versus Florida. White, who has nailed a team-best 51 three-pointers, broke the school record for most three-pointers by a freshman just 17 games into the season. She has tallied nine double-doubles and has scored at least 20 points on 14 occasions.

White was named SEC Player of the Week once and was named MVP of both the MSU Classic and the Tourneo de Basquetbol, which was played in Cancun. She also scored a career-high 28 points versus Top-10 rated Iowa State earlier in the season.

Mississippi State, seeded fifth, will meet 12th-seeded Kentucky in the opening round of the SEC Tournament Thursday. The two teams will square off at 6 p.m. (CST) at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/16/02
MEN'S BASKETBALL
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Looking to soothe the sting caused by a heartbreaking 68-65 overtime road loss to the LSU Tigers earlier in the week, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-7, 5-6) return to the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum to play host to the Auburn Tigers (11-11, 3-8) Saturday afternoon on the MSU campus. Tip-off time for the intra-divisional league contest is set for 2 p.m. at "The Hump."

On target for their first 20-win season since 1998-99 and ninth in the school's 90-year hoops history, coach Rick Stansbury's 18-7 Bulldogs are aiming to get back to the .500 mark in conference play after falling to 5-6 in the league by virtue of Wednesday's tough overtime setback in Baton Rouge. With last Saturday's 76-62 home triumph over then-fifth ranked and SEC West-leading Alabama, MSU reached the 10-win mark for home victories for the fourth consecutive season under Stansbury's guidance. State has now won at least 10 home games in a season 10 times over the past dozen seasons, including an all time Humphrey Coliseum-record 13 home wins a year ago.

Recently named as a second-team member of the NABC/Pontiac Division I All-District 6 contingent, sophomore standout Mario Austin leads the Bulldogs and ranks among the SEC's Top 10 statistical leaders in both scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). The former McDonald's High School All-American by way of York, Ala., also stands third among the league's leaders in field-goal percentage (56.8%). Eyeing the 22nd position on MSU's all-time scoring chart, senior Marckell Patterson needs nine more points to reach 1,080 career points and overtake former Bulldog standout Larry Fry on the school's career scoring list. The local Eupora product continues to be the team's second-leading scorer (13.4 ppg; 18th in the SEC) and No. 3 rebounder (4.7 rpg) on the campaign.

Coming off impressive 24- and 17-point performances against Alabama and LSU, respectively, sophomore guard Timmy Bowers also averages in double figures at 10.6 points per outing. The 1999-2000 Mississippi High School Player of the Year presently ranks sixth in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (38.7%) after hitting 9-of-14 three-pointers in his last two games. Junior point guard Derrick Zimmerman remains the SEC's top playmaker at 6.0 assists per contest, while narrowly trailing South Carolina's Chuck Eidson for the league lead in steals at 2.5 picks per game.

Having started five newcomers - four freshmen and one junior college transfer - during each of their last two games, the Auburn Tigers come to Starkville with an even 11-11 overall record and 3-8 conference mark after claiming home wins over Georgia (75-72) and Mississippi (65-62) within the past week. Guided by coaching veteran Cliff Ellis, Auburn is led in scoring by junior guard Derrick Bird at 12.0 points per outing. Coming off the bench of late, junior guard Marquis Daniels averages 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals a contest for the youthful Tiger contingent.

With a 72-64 road win over Auburn on Jan. 30, the Bulldogs are bidding for their first series sweep over the Tigers since beating AU three times, including an SEC Tournament victory, six years ago on the way to the 1996 Final Four.

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Mississippi State (16-9, 7-5) has lost three-straight contests since starting the SEC season 7-2. State fell on the road to Alabama and No. 6 Vanderbilt before Thursday's close encounter with the Lady Volunteers in Starkville. Morris Brown (3-21) has lost nine-straight games. The Lady Wolverines' last victory was a 66-63 win over Clark Atlanta University on January 14th.

Junior forward LaToya Thomas, a back-to-back Kodak All-American, leads the team and the conference in scoring, averaging 24.1 points per game. The Greenville, Miss., native also leads the squad in rebounding (9.4 rpg) and field goal shooting (56.5 percent). Thomas scored 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting versus Tennessee.

Freshman off-guard Tan White is right behind Thomas, averaging 19.1 points per game and pulling down 7.4 rebounds per contest. She leads the Lady Bulldogs in assists (4.4 apg), steals (2.6 spg) and blocks (1.0 bpg).

Morris Brown is led by Tawanna Thomas, who is scoring 16.8 points per contest while pulling down nearly five rebounds per game.

Mississippi State is second in the conference in scoring, averaging nearly 78 points per outing while allowing 73.9. MSU shoots 46.1 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from long-range and 72.3 percent from the free-throw line. Morris Brown is averaging 54.5 points per outing while allowing 78.0. The Lady Wolverines are shooting 33.5 percent from the floor, 26.7 percent from three-point range and 64.1 percent from the charity stripe.

The two teams have never met, and Sharon Fanning has never coached against Morris Brown in her career. Saturday's game is the final non-conference tilt of the season for State, before the Lady Bulldogs meet LSU and Florida to wrap-up the SEC schedule. The game can be heard on WFCA, 107.9-FM, the flagship station for MSU athletics, with Jim Ellis providing the play-by-play.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/09/02
MEN'S BASKETBALL
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Looking to regroup following a pair of double-digit setbacks to SEC Eastern Division front-runners Florida and Georgia, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-6, 4-5) take on their third consecutive nationally ranked league foe when they play host to the SEC Western Division-leading and fifth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (20-3, 8-1) Saturday afternoon on the MSU campus. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum.

Having most recently had their 14-game, regular-season home winning streak snapped with Wednesday's 86-68 loss to 17th-ranked Georgia, coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs are now 17-6 overall on the season and 4-5 in conference action. Last Saturday in Gainesville, MSU dropped a 76-48 road decision to the then-fifth ranked Florida Gators. The last time a Mississippi State team faced at least three straight nationally ranked opponents was two seasons ago when Stansbury's second Bulldog contingent met four consecutive Top 25 league foes in 1999-2000. Now 9-1 at "The Hump" this season, State's next home triumph will give the Bulldogs double-digit home wins for the fourth consecutive season, as well as matching the 18 total wins registered by last year's NIT squad.

Individually, the Bulldogs are powered by the inside game of sophomore all SEC candidate Mario Austin, who earlier this week came up just one rebound shy of recording his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and nine rebounds against Georgia. A former McDonald's High School All-American by way of York, Ala., Austin continues to rank among the league's Top 10 statistical leaders in scoring (15.9 ppg; 9th), rebounding (7.6 rpg; 5th) and field-goal percentage (57.7%; 2nd). Also averaging in double figures for Mississippi State, senior swingman Marckell Patterson rates as the team's second-leading scorer (13.4 ppg; 17th in the SEC) and No. 3 rebounder (4.7 rpg) on the campaign. Now with 1,045 career points to his credit, the local Eupora product moved into 23rd place on the school's all-time scoring list with 15 points in Wednesday's Georgia contest. He has scored in double figures in 30 of his last 38 contests.

Presently ranked fifth in the Associated Press media poll and sixth in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, the Alabama Crimson Tide sports a 20-3 overall record and SEC West-leading 8-1 league mark after claiming a 79-59 home win over Mississippi this past Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. Guided by fourth-year head coach and former Alabama standout guard Mark Gottfried, the Tide has reeled off six straight wins, including road triumphs over Georgia, Kentucky and LSU, since dropping a 59-56 road decision to in-state rival Auburn on Jan. 12. Alabama is paced by the junior duo of Erwin Dudley and Rod Grizzard, who average 15.1 and 15.0 points per game, respectively. Dudley leads the SEC in field-goal percentage (58.0%) and is second in rebounding (8.9 rpg), while Grizzard also averages 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists an outing.

With Alabama having posted an 85-73 home victory over State three weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, the Bulldogs will be looking to earn a split in the regular season series with their neighboring rivals for the 12th time in the last 15 years. MSU has held the upper hand over the Tide in Starkville meetings of late, having prevailed by an average of 21.7 points per home win over the last three seasons.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

Sharon Fanning's Lady Bulldogs saw its four-game conference winning streak snapped at Alabama, but the 7-3 SEC start is still a program-best. State knocked off two-straight ranked opponents (at Georgia, vs. Auburn) before stumbling in Tuscaloosa. MSU has won six-of-eight contests since starting the SEC season 1-1. Vanderbilt hasn't played since upsetting second-ranked Tennessee, 76-59, last Sunday. The Commodores defeated Tennessee after losing two-of-three conference contests.

LaToya Thomas continues to lead the SEC in scoring, averaging 24.3 points per outing. The junior forward also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 9.7 boards per game, and field goal shooting (56.0 percent). Thomas played all 40 minutes of Thursday night's game, scoring 33 points to lead all scorers. She poured in 31 points in State's 76-57 win over Auburn a week ago.

Freshman guard Tan White is right behind Thomas on the scoring charts, averaging 19.2 points per game and pulling down 7.6 rebounds per night. She leads the squad in assists (99), steals (65), and blocks (26).

Senior post-player Jennifer Fambrough is suffering back spasms, which caused her to miss Thursday night's outing. Until then, the Dickson, Tenn., native had played in every game as a Bulldog, a string of 113-consecutive contests. She is scoring 12.3 points per game and 6.0 boards per contest and is the team's best free-throw shooter (78.9 percent).

Two players average in double figures for Jim Foster's Commodores, led by All-SEC candidate Chantelle Anderson, who is pouring in 20.4 points per game. Anderson is pulling down 6.0 boards per night and leads the squad in field-goal percentage (66.4 percent). Zuzi Klimesova is averaging 16.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounding, with 7.3 per contest.

Mississippi State is one of the conference leaders in scoring, averaging 78.8 points per game, while allowing 70.6. State shoots 46.0 percent from the floor, 37.4 percent from behind the arc, and 73.3 percent from the charity stripe. Vandy is averaging 74.6 points per game while giving up just 62.9 per outing. The Commodores shoot a blistering 53.4 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from long-range, and 75.4 percent from the free-throw line.

The Commodores have won two-straight in the series, and hold a 12-1 edge in games played in Nashville. State has not won on Vandy's home floor since 1981. The game will be broadcast on WFCA, 107.9-FM, with Steve Ellis calling the action.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department