Mississippi State?s Tan White scored 19 of her game-high 29 points in the first half Thursday as the Bulldogs defeated the Kentucky women?s basketball team 72-59 in Humphrey Coliseum. Senior guard/forward Sara Potts and freshman center Sarah Elliott each scored 13 points to lead the Wildcats, who were out-rebounded 41-34 in the game.
The Cats (13-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) shot just 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the field in the game, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point range. The Bulldogs (14-3, 3-1 SEC), who extended their home win streak to 10 games, shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from beyond the arc, including a blistering 80 percent (4-of-5) clip from the three-point stripe in the second half. Mississippi State also used a dominant inside game that out-scored UK 20-12 in points in the paint. The Cats committed 17 turnovers, resulting in 15 points by the Bulldogs.
?Mississippi State shot the ball extremely well tonight,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Early out of transition we didn?t match up well and they were just knocking down shots. The effort was there from our team, we just caught Mississippi State on a good night. Tan White is just an exceptional player.?
White made 11-of-20 shots for the Bulldogs and 5-of-7 free-throws in 34 minutes of action. Ebonie Ferguson followed with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-7 three-point baskets.
?We?ve got to regroup and keep our heads up,? DeMoss said. ?We just need to move forward and prepare for a tough road game in Knoxville on Sunday.?
Potts made a trio of three-pointers in the game for the Cats to complement a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Samantha Mahoney scored eight points, while Nastassia Alcius and Danyelle Payne each chipped in seven for UK.
The Bulldogs took a 38-24 lead into the locker room at halftime after shooting 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from the field in the first half, including a 53.8 percent (7-of-13) clip from beyond the three-point arc. White led Mississippi State with 19 points in the first half, including a long trey at the close of the opening stanza. The Wildcats made only nine of their 29 shots in the first period, losing the rebounding battle 25-15.
Kentucky trimmed its halftime deficit down to four, 38-34, after going on a 10-0 run to open the second half. Elliott had four points during that stretch and Potts nailed a resounding three-pointer. Mississippi State answered to push the advantage back out to nine, 45-36, at the 14:27 mark of the game.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Ferguson extended the Bulldogs? lead to 16, 54-38, with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Cats wouldn?t give up, pulling within 10, 58-48, on a steal and a driving lay-up by Alcius at the 4:51 mark.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday as it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the seventh-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols and DeMoss? former boss Pat Summitt. Tip off is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be carried live on WLXG 1300 AM with Chris Cross.
