Crimson Tide Women's Hoops Host Mississippi State Sunday
1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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TUSCALOOSA - The University of Alabama women's basketball team (10-7, 2-2 SEC) return to the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum in hopes of regaining their winning form on Sunday against Mississippi State (6-10, 1-3 SEC) at 2 p.m.
The Crimson Tide opened their SEC schedule with a pair of home victories but has dropped their last two conference tilts on the road against nationally-ranked opponents. Alabama owns a 5-2 record at Coleman Coliseum this year.
In Bama's last outing, a late charge versus rival Auburn came up just short as the Tigers handed UA a disappointing 70-61 defeat. The Tide played well enough to win but Auburn's relentless rebounding effort, especially on the offensive end where they tallied 20 boards, proved to be the difference in the contest.
UA junior Monique Bivins matched her season best performance against AU finishing with 20 points to lead all scorers. Freshman Kate Mastin also had a solid night scoring 11 points and handing out a team high five assists.
Mississippi State is riding high heading into their meeting with Alabama following an impressive 80-67 win over Kentucky on Thursday night in Starkville, Miss. For MSU, the victory snapped a six-game losing streak and marked their first SEC win of the season. All-SEC junior Tan White had a breakout game finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the win.
Bama and State have split their last four meetings with both teams having earned a road victory during the stretch. Prior to MSU's win in 2000, Alabama had won 26 consecutive games versus the Bulldogs. The Tide owns a 31-5 all-time mark in the series.
Following Sunday's home game, Alabama returns to the road for a pair of challenging SEC games next week. The Tide visits Florida on Thursday night before traveling to No. 17 Georgia next Sunday.
