January 2004 MSU Basketball Skuttle-Butt

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01/30/04
Women's Basketball
AUBURN, Ala. - Mississippi State's two-game winning streak came to a halt with an 80-53 loss at Auburn Thursday night.

The Tigers were hot out of the gates, going on a 12-3 run to open the game. AU pushed its lead out to as many as 19 points at 28-9 with 7:51 to play in the opening half. State did not reach double figures in points until the 7:00 minute mark. AU took a commanding 15-point lead into the halftime intermission at 41-26. State was a dismal 8-of-30 from the field in the first half.

The Blue and Orange played zone defense against the Lady Bulldogs for most of the game, forcing MSU to take 25 three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Tigers shot over 50 percent from the field.

"We totally didn't show up," said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning. "They (Auburn) are a very good team. If we play like we did in the second half in the first half, the game might have been different."

In the second half, State was able to attack the Tigers zone more. The Lady Bulldogs trimmed the AU lead down to 18 points five minutes deep into the second half, but that was as close as they would get. AU led by as many as 30 points twice in the final 20 minutes.

The Maroon and White shot the basketball better in the second half, shooting 48 percent. AU controlled the paint in the game, outscoring MSU 34-22. The only statistical category that State was better than Auburn was the points off the bench. MSU had 25 points off the bench on the night.

"I thought in the second half we attacked the zone, in the first half we didn't," said Fanning.

Junior guard Tiania Burns was the lone Lady Bulldog in double figures in the scoring column. She finished with 12 points. Tan White was held to just seven points, the first time this season she has not scored in double figures. Blessing Chekwa came off the bench to add eight points. Ebonie Ferguson also came off the bench for six points.

Auburn was led by Louise Emeagi with a career-high 22 points. Marita Payne was a spark off the bench, scoring a career-best 16 points. Le’Coe Willingham posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

State returns to the home court on Sunday to welcome the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks to Humphrey Coliseum. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. on the MSU campus.

Source: MSU Media Relations

01/28/04 - MSU's Lawrence Roberts was selected as one of the Wooden Award's five players of the week after averaging 19.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 2.5 apg last week. In the 'Did you know' category: Lawrence scored 58 points during a high school game.

01/27/04
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Ranked among the SEC's top six statistical leaders in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage, Mississippi State junior forward/center Lawrence Roberts has been named to the Midseason Top 30 list of candidates for this year's prestigious John R. Wooden Award. The Wooden Award Committee made the announcement Monday from its Los Angeles headquarters.

The 6-9, 235-pound Roberts is joined on this year's Wooden Award midseason list, which was trimmed down this week from its original list of 50 preseason candidates, by fellow SEC standouts Gerald Fitch (Kentucky), Matt Freije (Vanderbilt) and David Lee (Florida).

Having developed into a viable midseason candidate for both the SEC Player and Newcomer of the Year Awards in his first season in Starkville, Roberts ranks sixth in the league in scoring (16.5 ppg), second in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and fifth in field-goal percentage (57.3%). The former Baylor transfer paces the Southeastern Conference and stands tied for second nationally behind UConn's Emeka Okafor (12) with 11 double-doubles on the season - 33 for his three-year collegiate career.

Roberts and his 11th-ranked Bulldog teammates will play host to the Tennessee Volunteers Wednesday night in a 7 p.m. contest at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum.

This season marks the second consecutive year that Mississippi State has had a Midseason Top 30 Wooden Award candidate, joining former two-time all-SEC Bulldog forward/center Mario Austin.

Created in 1976 and touted by many as the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball, the John R. Wooden Award is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.00 grade point average.

With the Wooden Award Committee slated to pare down the list to a ballot consisting of approximately 20 players in early March, the 2004 Wooden Award ceremony will be televised live by CBS from the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday, April 10. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced on March 30, and the top five candidates will be invited to Los Angeles for the ceremony. Each finalist will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund.

Source: MSU Media Relations

01/23/04 - Comments from last night's Rick Stansbury's Call-In Show at the Cotton District Grill in Starkville.

  • Ontario Harper is about 70% recovered from his knee surgery. He could possibly play when he gets to 85%. That could be within a week or two. Coach Stansbury and Ontario will decide what he will do at that time. Even though he won't be 100% his past experience will be good for the team.
  • Sophomore forward Terry Licorish, who has an illness that has kept him from playing or practicing this season, is waiting to be discharged from the hospital so that he can come back down to Mississippi State.
  • A new state-of-the art scoreboard will be unveiled probably during the first game of next season. The finances have been taken care of. All that has to be done now is put it in the Hump. Rick hoped it would be put in this season but it couldn't be done due to the time factor. He said, "as good as the Hump is now, this (scoreboard) will take it to another level of excitement."
  • About the whiteout: Coach Stansbury said, "the whiteout was unbelievable. To come out and see that sea of white was not only electrifying for the coaches but to the players as well. If that is something that we can do every game, let's do it because it was very exciting."
  • Meo Stansbury is expecting their 3rd child in July.
  • During the last seven or eight minutes of the Florida game, the clock became a major factor and the experience of Timmy Bowers allowed the Bulldogs to know when to score and when to run the clock.
  • A caller mentioned that tv analyst Digger Phelps commented on ESPN about how he couldn't understand how Florida could lose so big to MSU. Jack Cristil brought up the fact that Digger might still be coaching and not be a tv analyst if he did understand. He also said all Digger had to do was watch a few minutes of the game and he would have understood.
  • Coach Stansbury is a little concerned about this weekend's game because his team got home at about 2 a.m. Thursday morning after the Florida game. Plus, he said Georgia showed that they can win on the road by defeating Kentucky in Rupp Arena with a squad that includes 4 seniors and the remainder freshmen.
  • Despite the game he had against Florida, Shane Power is still not back to the player he was prior to his injury. But as he continues to improve, his offense continues to improve.
  • According to Coach Stansbury, "the team that is best able to stay on an even keel through 16 games is the team that seems to find a way to win championships and that is what we are trying to do, win a championship."

    01/22/04
    Women's Basketball
    STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (5-10, 0-3) host the Kentucky Wildcats (8-8, 0-3) on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. CT in Humphrey Coliseum. Both teams are searching for their first win in conference play after going 0-3 in the SEC.

    This marks the 26th meeting between the two schools with Kentucky leading the series 14-11. The Lady Bulldogs have taken six of the last seven meetings with UK, including the last three games in Starkville.

    The last time these two teams met was in Starkville towards the end of the regular season, Feb. 16, 2003. State posted the largest SEC winning margin of 50 points over Kentucky with a 96-46 victory.

    MSU most recently fell to Mississippi in its third straight conference loss, 69-60. Junior guard Tan White is pacing the Lady Bulldogs with 17.5 ppg, third in the conference. Junior guard Tiania Burns and senior forward Seneca Anderson are the other Lady Bulldogs in double digits with 14.2 ppg and 10.3 ppg respectively.

    Kentucky (8-8, 0-3) is searching for its first conference win of the season after falling to Vanderbilt (57-65), Georgia (53-74) and LSU (69-70). The Wildcats went 8-5 in non-conference play and are 2-4 on the road. Senior center SeSe Helm is leading the charge with 15.3 ppg and 8.3 rpg. Other Wildcats in double digits are junior Sara Potts with 14.4 ppg and sophomore Jenny Pfeiffer with 11.5 ppg. UK has a new head coach at the helm in Mickie DeMoss. After 18 seasons as an assistant coach at Tennessee, DeMoss left for Lexington to lead a new program.

    Source: MSU Athletic Media Relations

    01/19/04
    Women's Basketball
    OXFORD, Miss. - Mississippi State's four-game winning streak against Mississippi came to a halt Sunday afternoon with the Lady Rebel's 69-60 win over the Lady Bulldogs.

    The loss extended MSU's losing streak to six games. State is still searching for its first road win of the season. They are 0-7 on the road this season.

    State opened the game with a lead at 16-13 with 11:19 to play in the opening half. From the point on the Maroon and White went cold shooting for a seven minute stretch. UM went on a 13-0 scoring run during that time to take the lead out to as many as 12 points at 30-18 at the 3:08 mark. The Lady Rebels would take the same margin into the halftime break at 34-22.

    The Lady Bulldogs shot just 37 percent for the game, while Mississippi shot 44 percent from the field. MSU also had a poor outing at the charity stripe, going 9-of-20. UM was 17-of-25 for 68 percent from the line. State was also out-rebounded 49-31 by the Lady Rebels.

    "The main thing is we have to keep fighting," said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning.

    In the second half the Red and Blue had its biggest margin of the game at 15 points at the 12:45 mark. State trimmed that lead six points with under a minute to play, but UM hit free throws done the stretch to seal the win. The loss in Oxford is the first for MSU since 1999.

    Junior guard Tan White led all scorers with 22 points. She also recorded seven steals and dished out five assist. Tiania Burns, with 10 points, was the only other Lady Bulldog in double figures in scoring. She also recorded three steals. Rebecca Kates finished with eight points, while Blessing Chekwa and Mamie McKinney both added six points each. State played without starter Seneca Anderson, who missed the game due to a death in the family.

    UM finished with three players in double figures in the scoring column. Amber Watts led the Lady Rebels with 16 points while Carletta Brown posted 14 points. Freshman Armintie Price finished with a double-double, 13 points, and 11 rebounds.

    "Kentucky is a lot like Mississippi, with a new coach and a lot of excitement," said Fanning. "They have some experience on that team."

    The Lady Bulldogs return home Thursday night to face the Kentucky Wildcats. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. in the Humphrey Coliseum.

    Source: MSU Media Relations

    01/18/04
    Men's Basketball
    STARKVILLE, Miss. - "Mississippi State Basketball with Rick Stansbury" makes its 2003-04 season debut Sunday evening both on local and regional television.

    Atlanta-based FOX Sports Net South will air the MSU basketball coach's TV show at 10:30 p.m. CT each Sunday night, while Columbus-based WCBI-TV is scheduled to show the weekly program at 11 p.m. CT.

    In addition, Mississippi State University's Channel 30 is scheduled to air "Mississippi State Basketball with Rick Stansbury" every Sunday and Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Basketball game playbacks of recent Bulldog home contests are also slated to air at 7 p.m. on MSU's Channel 30 immediately following the coach's TV show on Sundays and Tuesdays throughout the basketball season.

    The 30-minute television show, hosted by veteran Mississippi State sportscaster Jack Cristil, stars sixth-year MSU head basketball coach Rick Stansbury. Featuring game highlights, player features and scouting reports on upcoming Bulldog opponents, the weekly program is a production of the Bulldog Sports Network, a division of Host Communications, a subsidiary of Bull Run Corporation, in conjunction with the Mississippi State University Television Center.

    Source: MSU Media Relations

    01/17/05
    Men's Basketball
    STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Tickets for Mississippi State's remaining three Saturday men's basketball games are sold out, the MSU athletic ticket office announced Friday.

    No tickets are available for Bulldog men's basketball games against Georgia (Jan. 24), Mississippi (Feb. 7) and Alabama (Feb. 21). Only a limited number of tickets remain for State's other three contests at Humphrey Coliseum: Tennessee (Wed., Jan. 28), LSU (Wed., Feb. 25) and Auburn (Tues., March 2).

    Tickets for those three Bulldog games may be ordered by contacting the athletic ticket office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS or 662-325-2600, or purchased over the counter at the Bryan Athletic Administration Building ticket office during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT.

    Source: MSU Media Relations

    Women's Basketball
    STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (5-9, 0-2) encounter their 65th meeting with the Mississippi Lady Rebels (10-7, 1-2) Sunday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. CT in Oxford, Miss. The game will be televised on SEC-TV (FOX Sports Net South and FOX Sports Net Southwest) with Dave Neal calling the play-by-play and Van Chancellor as the color analyst. Despite the 11-53 series record versus the Lady Rebels, State has won 10 of the last 13 meetings since 1998, including sweeping the last two series.

    MSU is looking to break its 5-0 losing streak with its first win on the road this season. The Lady Bulldogs started off the conference falling to the two top teams in Georgia, 70-88, and Tennessee, 53-61. State has been led by the guard play of Tan White and Tiania Burns. White is third in the SEC with 17.1 ppg, while Burns is 12th averaging 14.5 ppg.

    White and Burns are racking up points from the free throw line. The pair has gone 82-for-103 from the charity stripe this season, 79.6 percent. White has gone 47-for-58 (.810) and Burns is 35-for-45 (.778). White is currently sixth and Burns is eighth in the SEC. As a team, State is third in the conference with a 71.4 free throw percentage.

    Mississippi (10-7, 1-2) has had close games to open up the conference, with each game being determined by seven points or less. The Lady Rebels defeated Florida at home, 79-72, but fell to Arkansas, 67-61, and Alabama, 67-62, on the road. UM went 9-5 in non-conference play and are 4-0 at home. Freshman guard Armintie Price is a top leader for Ole Miss in her first year averaging 14.2 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Senior guard Genice Terry is the other Lady Rebel averaging double digits with 14.5 ppg. They are 14th and 11th in the conference in scoring.

    The Lady Rebels lead the league in offensive rebounds, averaging 16.76 rpg. Ole Miss has tallied 285 offensive rebounds to State's 198. Price is also second in rebounds in the SEC averaging 9.5 rpg. It also looks to be a stealing frenzy with the Lady Rebels sitting tied for first in the league with 11.33 spg, but State's Tan White is second individually pulling in 3.36 spg.

    Up next, State comes home to host Kentucky on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. CT in Humphrey Coliseum.

    More women's news...

    STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ WJDX 620 AM in Jackson, Miss. will be airing five Mississippi State women's basketball games beginning with the MSU-Mississippi game this Sunday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. CT. Airtime will begin at 1:40 p.m. CT.

    WJDX is also airing the Jan. 25 away Alabama game, Feb. 1 versus Arkansas, Feb. 8 versus Mississippi and Feb. 15 at Kentucky. All broadcasts will still be carried by the MSU flagship station, WFCA 107.9 FM French Camp.

    Source: MSU Media Relations

    01/09/04
    Women's Basketball
    ATHENS, Ga. - The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs opened the Southeastern Conference slate with an 88-70 loss to No. 9 Georgia in Athens, Ga. Thursday night in Stegeman Coliseum.

    The Eastern Division Bulldogs took advantage of the height advantage in the paint against MSU. The glaring stat of the game was points in the paint where Georgia outscored the Maroon and White 42-26.

    UGA's Christi Thomas led all scorers with 27 points and 15 rebounds. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season by halftime. At intermission she had 18 points and 11 boards. Kara Braxton finished with 12 points as well from the paint.

    "Those two young ladies (Thomas and Braxton) are very good," said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning. "They have been in this league a long time."

    State held a slim and short one-point lead, 7-6 at the 16:10 mark of the first half on Rebecca Kates's three-pointer. Then UGA went on a 20-3 scoring run to regain and push its lead to as many as 19 points before the Lady Bulldogs hit another basket with 10:23 left to play in the first half.

    "It is a 7-6 ballgame and then I look up at the scoreboard and they have a 10-point lead," said Fanning. "Georgia took us out of everything we wanted to do tonight."

    The Red and Black Bulldogs biggest margin of the first half was at halftime. UGA led by 24 points, 48-24. MSU shot just 27 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while UGA shot 53 percent.

    MSU was led by junior Tan White and senior Seneca Anderson with 18 points each. Blessing Chekwa came off the bench to record 10 points. Kates finished with eight points, while Doceide Warren added six points.

    Georgia continued to increase the scoring margin in the second half. They led by as many as 30 points at 67-37 with 12:16 left to play in the game. The Lady Bulldogs trimmed that margin to 21 point twice, before losing by 18 points. State outscored UGA 46-40 in the final half. MSU was 18-of-30 from the field in the final 20 minutes.

    "We just have to come out focused to get better,"said Fanning.

    MSU will open SEC home play Sunday with a match-up with No. 5 Tennessee. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. in the Humphrey Coliseum.

    Source: MSU Media Relations Department