SEC Women's Basketball Roundup - 1/31

Thursday, January 31, 2002
 
Arkansas 67, No. 8 Vanderbilt 57
FAYETEVILLE, Ark. (AP) --
Arkansas proved that it's win over a ranked team last weekend wasn't a fluke.

Shameka Christon scored 21 points to lead Arkansas to a 67-57 victory over No. 8 Vanderbilt on Thursday night.

The win marks the first time in Arkansas' 26-year history that it has beaten two ranked teams back-to-back. The Lady Razorbacks (12-8, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a 74-46 victory over then-No. 7 South Carolina on Sunday.

"We knew Vandy was a better team, but we came out and played harder than them," Christon said. "We made the plays down the stretch and it made the difference in our energy and enthusiasm."

Dana Cherry scored 18 for Arkansas, and Amy Wright and India Lewis added 10 apiece.

Arkansas led 56-55 with 3:33 left in the game before going on an 11-0 run to take control.

The Lady Razorbacks forced 23 turnovers, 14 in the first half. Arkansas scored 18 points off turnovers while Vanderbilt (19-5, 5-3) scored only nine.

"They were physical and we didn't react very well to it," Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster said. "Turning the ball over that many times didn't help and we didn't keep our head about us."

Chantelle Anderson led the Commodores with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Ashley McElhiney added 12 points.

No. 2 Tennessee 86, No. 12 Florida 66
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) --
Kara Lawson scored 18 points and Michelle Snow had 16 points and 10 rebounds Thursday as second-ranked Tennessee beat No. 12 Florida 86-66.

Gwen Jackson added 17 points, Loree Moore had 11 points and eight assists and Tasha Butts scored 10 for the Lady Vols (18-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), who have won seven straight to remain undefeated in league play.

The Lady Gators (15-6, 5-3), led by Brandi McCain's 18 points, just couldn't keep up with Tennessee as their four-game winning streak was snapped.

Tennessee led from the tipoff and by as many as 15 points late in the first half as they pushed the tempo to close with a 43-31 lead at halftime.

Florida cut the lead to 45-35 early in the second half but couldn't get any closer with leading-scorer Vanessa Hayden sidelined with four fouls. The Lady Vols went on a 14-2 run over the next six minutes.

Lawson finished it with back-to-back baskets to put Tennessee ahead 59-37 with 12:41 to go. Lawson raised her arms to encourage the crowd to get louder, and Florida coach Carol Ross called a timeout.

It didn't help.

Lawson scored again and Snow had two baskets as the Lady Vols increased the already-quick pace to frenetic. A pair of free throws by Lawson gave Tennessee a 69-39 lead with 9:48 left.

Nothing was going right for Florida, and the bench was called for a technical, and Jackson made both free throws. Hayden finished with 17 points before both she and McCain fouled out.

Tennessee beat the Lady Gators 88-64 earlier this season in Gainesville, Fla., and has now won eight straight over Florida.

Florida trailed by 11 just 4 1/2 minutes in the game but used a 15-4 run to tie it. McCain's 3 with 9:45 left tied it at 20.

Tennessee responded with a 15-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 13-point lead. The Lady Vols ran the floor hard and worked together in the spurt.

April McDivitt started it with a 3 and then a nice bounce pass to Moore on the break for another basket.

Ashley Robinson got the ball down low but was double-teamed. She bounced the ball back to Snow standing alone under the basket for two more points.

Mississippi State 72, No. 19 Georgia 71
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) --
LaToya Thomas burned No. 19 Georgia again, hitting two free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining to give Mississippi State a stunning 72-71 victory Thursday night.

Mississippi State (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) outscored Georgia 13-1 over the final two minutes, sending the Bulldogs to their third straight home loss.

It's the first time in the 23-year tenure of coach Andy Landers that Georgia (14-6, 3-5) has lost three in row at Stegeman Coliseum. Overall, the Lady Bulldogs have dropped six of nine since starting the season 11-0.

Tan White scored 27 points and set up the winning free throws by stealing the ball from Whitney Law at the Georgia end of the court. White raced the other way and worked the ball in to Seneca Anderson, who was stuffed by Christi Thomas for a jump ball with 0.7 seconds to go.

The possession arrow gave the ball to Mississippi State, which had time to lob the ball in to LaToya Thomas near the foul line.

Her shot bounced off the front of the rim as the crowd erupted, thinking Georgia had won. But the officials called a foul on Kara Braxton, who lost sight of Thomas on the inbounds play and appeared to crash into the Mississippi State player as she shot.

Thomas, a 77 percent free throw shooter, calmly stepped to the line and swished both attempts. Georgia didn't have time to get off a final shot.

Mississippi State celebrated at midcourt while Georgia walked to the locker room in disbelief.

Mississippi State beat Georgia for the second time in 2 1/2 weeks. On Jan. 13 in Starkville, Thomas scored 43 points -- the most ever by a Georgia opponent -- to lead her team to an 84-82 victory.

Georgia tried to counter Thomas with a smaller lineup, its 10th different alignment this season. The Mississippi State player still managed to score 21 points, despite sitting out some nine minutes in the second half after picking up her fourth foul.

Braxton and Mary Beth Lycett each scored 15 points to lead Georgia.

Mississippi 63, No. 25 Auburn 53
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) --
Carletta Brown scored 15 points to lead Mississippi over No. 25 Auburn 63-53 on Thursday night.

Brown also made three 3-pointers and had the team's most assists with seven.

Mississippi (10-11, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) outscored Auburn (14-7, 2-6) off turnovers 19-10. The Rebels outrebounded Auburn 45-37.

Von Kirk scored 12 points and Saundra Jackson made 11 for Mississippi off the bench.

The Rebels didn't shoot much better than Auburn from the field (39 percent to 36 percent), but rebounds and turnovers made the difference.

Auburn remained in a slump. The Tigers have lost four of five.

Auburn's leading scorer was Le'Coe Willingham with 14 points. She also got 10 rebounds.