Alabama
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Mississippi State
Women's Basketball Comes Up Short Against Mississippi State
1/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2012
Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Crimson Tide Basketball Central
Basketball Home | Season Statistics | Roster | Media Guide | Crimson Tide Hoops SquadTideTV - Watch the games online! | SEC Basketball | NCAA Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Despite getting 32 points from its bench, the Alabama women's basketball team fell to Mississippi State, 66-61, at Foster Auditorium on Thursday evening. With the loss, the Crimson Tide falls to 10-8 overall and 0-4 in the Southeastern Conference, while Mississippi State improves to 11-5 and 1-2 in league play.
"We played better and gave a better effort," said Alabama head coach Wendell Hudson. "We played hard. We still had some situations where we didn't play as smart as we needed to play. We had some people step in and play in some minutes that they hadn't played before. We have to be appreciative of that. When it got down to the stretch, we got kind of clogged and bogged down. We couldn't get the ball in the basket. We had some opportunities and just didn't convert."
After a slow start with early ties and lead changes, Alabama took advantage of Mississippi State's 10 turnovers by scoring 12 second chance points. The Tide also took advantage of the Lady Bulldogs' foul trouble, making 12 of its 15 free throws. Alabama went into the break with a 41-34 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs would not make it easy for the Tide, putting together several second-half runs. They nearly erased Alabama's lead in the first five minutes of second half play, but Alabama would answer. Finally, Mississippi State was able to put together enough of a run to tie the game, and then took the lead in the final minutes on a three-pointer by Kendra Grant. The Lady Bulldogs would go on to make two free throws to seal the victory.
Junior guard Celiscia Farmer came off the bench to lead Alabama with 15 points. Sophomore guard Jasmine Robinson and junior forward Kyra Crosby each added 11 points. Junior guard Meghan Perkins led the Crimson Tide's rebounding efforts with seven boards, while Farmer grabbed five rebounds.
The Lady Bulldogs were led by senior guard Diamber Johnson, who scored 22 points. Senior guard Porsha Porter, freshman guard Kendra Grant and senior center Catina Bett all scored in double digits for Mississippi State, adding 16, 13 and 11 points, respectively. Mississippi State's rebounding was led by freshman center Martha Alwal and Porter, who had each had five rebounds.
Alabama returns to the hardwood on Sunday, January 15, when it hosts Mississippi at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
