December 2003 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

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12/25/03
Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs hit the road after the holidays for a two-game road stance at UNLV on Dec. 28 at 3 p.m. PT (1 p.m. CT) and UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. PT (5 p.m. CT).

The Lady Bulldogs went 2-0 at the MSU Classic defeating Southern University, 69-46, and McNeese State, 81-58, taking the Classic title for the 12th consecutive time and improving their Classic record to 27-3. Three Lady Bulldogs are averaging double digits, all named to the MSU Classic All-Tournament team: junior guard Tiania Burns with 15.6 ppg, junior guard Tan White with 14.3 ppg and senior guard/forward Seneca Anderson with 10.2 ppg. Burns and White earned co-MVP honors for their performance during the Classic.

State looks to gain its first road victory in Las Vegas. UNLV (7-2) is on a two-game winning streak, including a 5-0 home record. The Lady Rebels two losses this season has come to UCLA, 51-61, and Loyola Marymount, 64-76. Junior forward/center Sherry McCracklin leads the charge averaging a double-double with 13.8 ppg and 13.0 rpg. Junior forward/center RanDee Henry is averaging 19.4 ppg and sophomore guard Sheena Moore is putting up 18.7 ppg. Last season UNLV finished 17-12 overall, tied for third in the Mountain West, and a first round WNIT appearance.

The Lady Bulldogs then travel to 20th-ranked UC Santa Barbara to face their third top-25 ranked opponent this season. UC Santa Barbara (5-3) most recently fell to No. 8 Purdue, 65-61. Other Gaucho losses came to third-ranked Texas Tech, 68-41, and SEC opponent Florida, 75-49. Senior center Lindsay Taylor and junior forward Kristen Mann are leading UCSB with 14.4 ppg and 13.1 ppg respectively, for a team that returned seven letterwinners. The Gauchos finished up last year 27-5 and first place in the Big West.

This marks the second meeting with both schools. MSU leads the UCSB series 1-0 and UNLV leads the series, 1-0.

Source: MSU Media Relations

12/13/03
The MSU men's and women's basketball teams will be playing a doubleheader in Tupelo this coming Tuesday at the BancorpSouth Center.

4:45 Lady Dawgs vs. UT Martin

7:30 MSU vs. University of New Orleans

On Monday the 15th, there will be an autograph session in the West concourse at 6:15. Tickets can be purchased at the BancorpSouth Center box office, any ticket king outlet, online at bancorpsouthcenter.com or by calling 662-841-6528.

MSU is coming off of a loss to South Alabama, 67-53. Junior guard Tiania Burns posted her second career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against the Jaguars. Junior guard Tan White was the only other Lady Bulldog in double digits with 17 points of her own. Burns is averaging 14.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg while White is putting up 13.2 ppg for the season.

Louisiana Tech has been busy this week going 2-1, with a loss to second-ranked Tennessee, 85-65, and wins over Arkansas-Little Rock, 81-58, and Southern University, 78-29. Senior forward Amisha Carter is leading the Lady Techsters with 15.7 ppg and 10.3 rpg.

This marks the fourth meeting between the two schools. LT leads the series 2-1 with both wins coming in Ruston. MSU's win of the series was an upset of the second-ranked Lady Techsters, 74-72, in Starkville. LT became the first top five ranked team that a Lady Bulldog team had ever beaten.

This marks the 30th season of women's basketball for both programs. MSU has had six head coaches and is 388-428 overall and Louisiana Tech is in its third head coach and boasts a 829-137 overall history record.

Source: MSU Media Relations

12/04/03
Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs host Detroit in their 2003-04 home opener. MSU is 1-2 on the season with a win over Indiana (70-67) and losses to Baylor (88-45) and Virginia Tech (63-56). The Lady Bulldogs are 26-3 in home openers, 8-0 under the tutelage of head coach Sharon Fanning.

State will be led by the dynamic duo at the guard position, Tan White and Tiania Burns. Both players are tied for averaging 11.7 ppg. White and Burns were named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team for their performance. The pair has gone 21-for-23 from the charity stripe in the first three games.

MSU looks to be a more diversified team this year. Coach Fanning has shown three different line-ups so far this season. There have been double-digit contenders besides White and Burns. Junior guard Ebonie Ferguson surfaced to post a career-high 11 points vs. Indiana and senior guard/forward Seneca Anderson tied a career-high 15 points vs. Virginia Tech in the Paradise Jam Tournament.

Detroit is coming into its fourth road game with a 2-1 record. The Titan victories have been by narrow margins, 50-49 win over Toledo and 47-44 defeat over Ohio. UDM fell to Bowling Green, 77-53. Sophomore guard Lindsey Pasquinzo is leading Detroit averaging 16.0 ppg. She has posted two 19-point outings and 10 points vs. Bowling Green. Other double-digit performers are senior center/forward Nicole Anaejionu and sophomore forward Joanna Cooper. Anaejionu is leading the Titans, pulling down an average of 6.3 rpg. Detroit was 10-20 last season, 6-10 in the Horizon League, seventh overall in the conference.

This marks the first meeting between the two schools. MSU is 2-1 vs. the Horizon League, only playing Illinois-Chicago.

Source: MSU Media Relations Department