The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
21-12
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Mississippi State
23-9
Women's Basketball ends season with 71-63 loss to Mississippi State in NCAA First Round
03.21.2009 | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Alexis Rack was perfect in eight trips to the foul line down the stretch, and the Lady Bulldogs were 21 of 22 as a team in beating Texas 71-63 Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
"We've been doing this all year," said Rack, who had 20 points for her 13th consecutive game in double figures. "We shoot 100 free throws in practice. I felt like I was at practice. I felt comfortable and just focused."
Chanel Mokango scored 15 points and Mary Kathryn Govero added 11 off the bench for the Lady Bulldogs (23-9), who blew an 11-point lead with 5 minutes left before hanging on.
Earnesia Williams had 17 points, Brittainey Raven 15 and Kathleen Nash 11 for Texas (21-12), making its 23rd NCAA trip, tied for third-most.
Mississippi State, which shot 69 percent at the line coming in, broke a tie at 59 on Mokango's short jumper, then scored their final 10 points on foul shots - in as many attempts.
"I said down the stretch that the best shot to take was a foul shot," Mississippi State coach Sharon Fanning said.
The Lady Bulldogs missed their first free throw of the game before making the next 21.
The game figured to be a close one between the sixth-seeded Longhorns and 11th-seeded Lady Bulldogs. Each team started the season 11-0, each lost for the first time on Dec. 30, and each had an up-and-down season before getting at-large bids into the Berkeley Regional.
Rack hit just 3-of-11 shots from the field but made all 13 foul shots.
Trailing 34-24 at the half, Texas used a 9-0 run built on five points by Raven, including a 3 from the left wing with 3:50 left to cut the lead to 57-55.
Tate hit a follow to end the Texas surge, but the Longhorns came right back on two foul shots by Raven and Ashleigh Fontenette's bank shot in the paint to tie it at 59 with 2:15 left.
Mokango put MSU right back on top with a short jumper over the fingertips of Ashley Gayle. After a Texas turnover, the Lady Bulldogs relied on their sudden marksmanship to pull away at the line.
Rack was the exception for Mississippi state during the season, a cool customer at the line, where she hit 83 percent.
She made four in a row to push the lead to 65-59, then later hit four more in a row. Armelie Lumanu, who also had 10 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs, closed the scoring with two in as many chances in the final seconds.
"They just did a great job, with their rebounding - they rebounded the heck out of the ball - and hitting free throws," said Texas coach Gail Goestenkors. "In a tight game, those are two big factors."
Mississippi State had taken control with a rapid-fire 12-0 burst late in the opening half.
Rack poured in a 3 from the left corner off an inbounds pass before Mokango caught nothing but net on a jumper from the free-throw line. After a timeout, Govero worked her way behind the Texas defense and took a long pass from Rack for a layup.
After Mokango's steal, Govero hit a layup off a feed from Lumanu. Then Rack hit a shot and was fouled, completing the three-point play for a 30-19 advantage.
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas moves to 32-22 (.592) all-time in its 23 trips to the NCAA Tournament.
- The game saw five tied scores and six lead changes.
- Texas' 13-point deficit during the second half was its largest overcome of the season, as it tied the game with 2:15 left to play on Ashleigh Fontenette's first basket of the game, 59-59.
Kathleen Nash
- Set a career high in NCAA Tournament games with 11 points (3-of-8 FG, 3-of-6 3FG, 2-of-2 FT).
- Reached double-figures for the fourth time in the last five games.
Earnesia Williams
- Recorded season-high 17 points (4-of-7 FG, 9-of-11 FT) ... career high in NCAA Tournament games.
- Reached double figures for the third-straight game.
- Scored 10+ points for the ninth time this season and the 37th time of her career.
- Has averaged 14 points per game over the last three contests.
- Tied career-high with nine free throws made.
Ashley Gayle
- Pulled down team-high seven rebounds to lead the team in that category for the second time of her career.
- Recorded two blocks to finish her debut season second on UT's All-Time Freshman blocks list with 60.
Brittainey Raven
- Registered 15 points (4-of-11 FG, 2-of-5 3FG, 5-of-6 FT) to reach double-figures for the fifth-straight game, averaging 12.2 points per game during that stretch.
- Scored eight of the Longhorns nine points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, in span of 1:06 (4:57-3:51) to bring Texas within two, 57-59.
- Posted 10+ points for the 20th time this season and the 63rd time of her career. -Played in the 100th game of her career.
