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Monday, Nov. 22 8:00pm ET
Mississippi State holds on in shocker | |||||
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BOX SCORE
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- After opening the season with a victory over national power Tennessee, Louisiana Tech was ripe for a letdown against unranked Mississippi State. That's exactly what happened Monday night as LaToya Thomas scored 16 points to lead Mississippi State to a 74-72 upset of the second-ranked Lady Techsters. "They deserved to win this game," Tech coach Leon Barmore said. "They executed their offense a lot better than we did. ... I thought they outcoached us. They were better prepared." Mississippi State (2-0) pulled off the shocker before a crowd of 1,706, the second-largest in Lady Bulldogs history. Tech is the highest-ranked team that Mississippi State has ever beaten. "I really feel like we did a good job mentally in terms of our focus and desire," State coach Sharon Fanning said. Betty Lennox, who led Tech with 23 points, hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to cut Mississippi State's lead to 73-72. But State's Jennifer Fambrough was fouled with four seconds remaining and made one of two free throws to make it 74-72. Tech had a final chance, but Lennox's halfcourt shot was blocked at the buzzer. Fanning said Thomas was a key to the victory. "She is starting at the perimeter, but she is comfortable anywhere on the floor," Fanning said. Barmore was upset with Tech's performance. "We got exactly what we deserved. We got beat in every part of the game," he said. "We did not play the kind of basketball that the No. 2 team in the country should play." The Lady Techsters may have been overconfident. "I knew we were playing a good team on the road. I'm not sure if our players knew that," Barmore said. "They will win a lot of games here. If they prove themselves on the road, they will be a Top 25 team soon." | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
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