No. 3 MSU Women Overcome Slow Start to Defeat Georgia

(Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price, MSU Athletics)

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/AP) — Ketara Chapel and Teaira McCowan each scored 14 points and No. 3 Mississippi State rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Georgia 58-49 on Thursday night.

Mississippi State (26-1, 12-1 Southeastern Conference) struggled on offense and trailed for nearly the entire game. But Chapel converted a 3-point play — making a layup while being fouled — to give the Bulldogs a 48-46 lead with less than three minutes left that they wouldn’t surrender.

Chapel’s 14 points were a season high. The bench scored 34 of Mississippi State’s 58 points.

Caliya Robinson led Georgia (13-13, 5-8) with 13 points. After playing so well for three quarters, the Bulldogs were outscored 19-7 in the fourth.

Mississippi State came into Thursday’s game averaging more than 77 points per game, which was tops in the SEC. But the Bulldogs looked completely out of sync during the first half, shooting just 6 of 28 (21.4 percent) from the field.

Georgia couldn’t generate much offense either, but 11 offensive rebounds led to a few easy baskets and a 21-19 halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia: It’s a difficult loss for Georgia, which had won three out of four coming into Thursday and played terrific defense for most of the night against Mississippi State. Georgia’s cold shooting touch in the fourth quarter spoiled the chance at a mammoth upset.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs get the win, but there are plenty of concerns after the offense looked very average for a second straight game. Victoria Vivians — the team’s leading scorer this season — had 10 points, but shot just 2 of 15 from the field, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range. The 12 wins in SEC play are a school record.

UP NEXT

Georgia: Georgia returns home to host LSU on Sunday.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs go on the road to face Texas A&M on Sunday.