Vanderbilt (18-4, 4-2 Southeastern) lost for the first time at home this season because the Commodores, the nation's best shooting team at 54 percent, completely lost their touch in the second half. Led by Chantelle Anderson's 21 points, they made only 25 percent (7-of-28) of their shots in the second half.

Florida (14-5, 4-2) didn't shoot much better, but the Gators won for the fourth time in five games by outrebounding Vanderbilt 38-35. Florida took better care of the ball and scored 15 points off the Commodores' 17 turnovers.

Vanessa Hayden added 14 points and nine rebounds for Florida.

Zuzi Klimesova had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Vanderbilt, which had it lowest point total of the season.

Cardenas got the Gators going.

Vanderbilt led 35-30 when Cardenas started Florida on an 18-2 run with consecutive baskets. Then Hayden, the Gators' leading scorer who had only two points as she spent most of the first half on the bench with two fouls, scored next.

When Brandi McCain scored at 8:52, the Gators led 48-37. Vanderbilt helped the Gators out by going cold from the floor for more than seven minutes and repeatedly turning the ball over.

Florida led by as much as 15 points twice in the final minutes.

Both teams struggled to find a shooting touch early, but Vanderbilt finally got going with a little 7-0 spurt keyed by five points from Anderson. That gave Vandy its biggest lead of the half at 29-21 with 1:29 to go.

Then McCain got going, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers that trimmed the lead quickly. Sherisha Hills added a three-point play just before halftime that pulled the Gators within 31-30.

Alabama 78, No. 22 Auburn 70
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Beth Vice scored 20 points, and Shondra Johnson added 18 for Alabama, which took advantage of key Auburn injuries and defeated the 22nd-ranked Tigers 78-70 Thursday night.

Vice made six 3-ppointers for Alabama (12-7, 2-4 Southeastern). Auburn (14-5, 2-4) has won only two of its last seven games after injuries to centers Tia Miller and Brandi Hillman.

Natasha Brackett led Auburn with 17 points.

Auburn has suffered from the absence of Miller and Hillman. Miller, the Tigers' leading scorer, tore a ligament in her left knee Jan. 10 and is out for the season. Hillman is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks after breaking a bone in her left foot in practice Jan. 15.

Alabama never trailed in the second half. A layup by Monique Bivins pushed the Crimson Tide's margin to 14 -- their largest -- with 4:04 remaining.

Alabama led 36-32 at halftime after shooting 44.8 percent and holding Auburn to just 33.3 percent.

Le'Coe Willingham added 14 points for Auburn, Carol Smith 13 and Crispina Correia 10.

No. 17 Georgia 79, Mississippi 69
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Kara Braxton scored 29 points, and Georgia shot 75 percent in the second half while beating Mississippi 79-69 Thursday night, handing the Rebels their fifth straight loss.

Georgia (14-4, 3-3 Southeastern) was 18-for-24 from the field and went 11-for-14 from the free-throw line in the second half. Ole Miss (9-10, 1-5), led by Carletta Brown's 17 points, couldn't stop Georgia from scoring down the stretch.

Christi Thomas added 15 points for the Lady Bulldogs, who also got 12 from Tawana McDonald and 11 from Mary Beth Lycett.

Ole Miss led 36-29 at the half on 44.4 percent shooting, but the percentage dropped to 37 in the second half.

Tashondrea Moton and Saundra Jackson scored 11 points each, and Sherika Wright had 10 assists for the Lady Rebels.

Mississippi State 85, Arkansas 82 (OT)
STARKVILLE, Miss. (UA Sports Information) -- Junior LaToya Thomas had 32 points to lead Mississippi State, but it was freshman Tan White's key plays in the closing minutes of regulation and overtime gave the Lady Bulldogs an 85-82 win over Arkansas in Southeastern Conference women's basketball.

Arkansas, 10-8, dropped to 1-5 in conference play while Mississippi State goes to 13-8, 4-2 in league play.

Sophomore Shameka Christon led Arkansas with a career-high 28 points. Dana Cherry had 18 and India Lewis 18.

"We had the chance to win the game and when you play that hard on the road you should win," UA head coach Gary Blair said. "We had a heck of a basketball game tonight."

Arkansas shot 44.6 percent for the game and 51.3 percent for the second half, but only 16.1 percent in the overtime period.

Mississippi State struggled to control the ball during regulation with 30 turnovers, but managed to keep from making any critical mistakes in the overtime.

"We played well all around, and well enough to win tonight, especially in the second half," Blair said. "The their triangle stepped up at the end when they needed it."

The teams traded turnovers in the overtime until senior Amy Wright's three-point play gave Arkansas the lead, 81-78, with 3:45. Thomas answered to cut the lead to one, then a White layup put MSU back on top, 82-81. Christon hit one of two to tie the game again.

Anderson's layup gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead with 1:27, 84-82, but the Lady Bulldogs couldn't extend the lead as Thomas missed a running layup. Oakley pulled down the rebound for Arkansas.

Following a tie ball to Arkansas, Lewis tried to get the ball down low to Christon but White jumped in for the steal with 4.5 seconds left.

Mississippi State had three players get double-doubles, led by Thomas with 10 rebounds to go with her 32 points. White had 11 rebounds with her 22 points, and Jennifer Fambrough had 17 points and 15 rebounds.

At the end of regulation, Christon's rebound and stickback with 29 seconds left gave Arkansas the lead, 78-76.

State went to Thomas on the inbounds, but Christon blocked the shot. White picked up the rebound and drew Cherry's fourth foul, tying the game on the free throws.

White blocked Christon's shot with 12 seconds left, but Jones missed a breakaway layup a the buzzer to send the game went to overtime.

State was perfect for the season when it lead at half, and the Lady Bulldogs used a hot hand by White and Fambrough early in the second half to extend a five-point halftime lead to eight, 54-46.

The Lady 'Backs hit only one of their first 12 three-point attempts, but eight straight points -- including back-to-back treys -- by India Lewis capped a 12-0 run to put Arkansas into the lead, 58-54, with seven minutes to play.

As they did in the first half, MSU used free throws to regain the lead, 60-58, at 6:40 to begin a series of lead changes for the next four minutes.

A stunning series of miscues by MSU launched Arkansas on a decisive eight-point run. MSU switched Fambrough to Christon defensively, and the 6-1 sophomore made the Lady Bulldogs pay with consecutive drives to the bucket and a 74-69 lead with 1:39 left.

A trey from White and a three-point play by Fambrough put the Lady Bulldogs on their own 8-2 run. A pair of free throws by White with 56.1 seconds left tied the game, 76-76.

Arkansas had one of its best starts in conference play, certainly the best on the road. Breakaway buckets from Cherry and Christon pushed the Lady 'Backs to a quick 12-3 lead. Ten early turnovers by MSU and 55 percent shooting allowed Arkansas to hold the lead most of the half.

Renea Jones' three-pointer with 5:15 in the first gave the Lady Bulldogs' their first tie, followed quickly by a pair of Thomas free throws for the lead, 24-23. After a Cherry jumper, Thomas stole a breakaway pass from Lewis and went coast-to-coast. Fouled by Arkansas' Wright, Thomas completed the three-point play for a 28-25 lead with two minutes left.

Arkansas cut back to one, 30-29, but free throws allowed MSU to pull back to a 34-29 halftime lead.

The Lady Bulldogs hit 14-of-17 from the line in the first half as Arkansas was whistled for 13 personal fouls in the first half. State had only six with Arkansas hitting only 5-of-8.

LSU 75, Kentucky 69
LEXINGTON, Ky. (UK Sports Information) -- Kentucky came out flat in the second half en route to a 75-59 loss to LSU in Memorial Coliseum on Thursday. Sophomore Shambrica Jones came off the bench to lead the Wildcats with a career high 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior Rita Adams followed with 14.

The Cats (8-11, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) looked impressive in the first half, shooting 48.3 percent from the floor, thanks mostly to the hot hand of Jones. The 6-0 forward went 6-of-7 from the field, scoring 13 of her game-high 15 points in the first half.

LSU, receiving votes in the Associated Press Poll and ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, remained poised and took a four-point led at the half, 35-31, with help from its sharp-shooting sophomore, Doneeka Hodges. The sophomore guard nailed 4-of-4 from three-point land in the opening stanza and finished the game leading four Lady Tigers in double-figures with 17 points. LSU hit a total of six three-pointers in the game while Kentucky hit 3-of-7.

The Lady Tigers (11-6, 4-2 SEC) came out in the second half, going on a 19-7 run and exploding to a 72-53 lead, the largest margin of the game. The Cats would not be able to recover as time ran out.

SeSe Helm notched 10 points for her 19th straight game with double figures. She also pulled down seven rebounds while senior forward LaTonya McDole grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with her eight points.

Joining Hodges in double-figures was her twin sister Roneeka Hodges and junior center Aiysha Smith, with 16 points apiece. Sophomore guard Temeka Johnson added 13 points and a game-high eight assists. Smith pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

The Cats won the battle of the boards, outrebounding LSU 29-22. The Lady Tigers shot 54.7 percent from the floor while Kentucky shot 47.2 percent. LSU extends its win streak over the Cats to four and leads the all-time series 16-7. The Cats are 4-6 against the Lady Tigers in Memorial Coliseum.