Lady Griz Fall to Mississippi State in Overtime
12/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cheryl Keller scored a career-high 23 points and Julie Deming added a career-high 17 points, but it wasn't quite enough as Mississippi State edged the University of Montana 78-73 in overtime in the championship game of the Mississippi State Classic.
Montana (6-2) trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but managed to trim the deficit to four, 36-32, at halftime. Mississippi State (7-2) pushed the lead back to 10 at 44-34 with 18 minutes to play before the Lady Griz caught fire. Montana scored 10 straight points to tie the game at 44-44 with 14 minutes to play.
The Lady Bulldogs later led 58-56 with 3:30 remaining, but Deming sank a 3-pointer and Simarron Schildt made a jumper to give Montana a 61-58 lead with 1:38 left in regulation.
MSU's All-American forward LaToya Thomas answered with a traditional 3-point play to tie the score 61-61 with 1:21 left. The two teams then traded turnovers on their next possessions to force overtime.
In overtime, Mississippi State controlled the boards, collecting six of their 26 offensive rebounds in the extra five-minute period. The Lady Bulldogs converted those extra scoring chances into eight points. From there, MSU made six straight free throws in the final 44 seconds to secure the win.
Montana shot well from the field for the second straight game, making 45 percent of its shots, including 54 percent in the first half. MSU, meanwhile, made only 37.5 percent of its field goals, but used its dominance on the glass, outrebounding Montana 58-33.
"It was a great game," UM head coach Robin Selvig said. "We gave ourselves some chances to win. We had some good looks at the end, but they just didn't go in. Their offensive rebounds eventually cost us. They had a lot of second shots down the stretch. But I learned a lot of things about our team this weekend, and they are all positive things."
Keller, a 5-foot-8 senior from Turner, Mont., was named to the all-tournament team along with freshman center Hollie Tyler. Tyler finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Lady Griz will next be in action Friday night when they play host to the University of Utah in a 7:35 p.m. game at Dahlberg Arena.
Montana (6-2) trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but managed to trim the deficit to four, 36-32, at halftime. Mississippi State (7-2) pushed the lead back to 10 at 44-34 with 18 minutes to play before the Lady Griz caught fire. Montana scored 10 straight points to tie the game at 44-44 with 14 minutes to play.
The Lady Bulldogs later led 58-56 with 3:30 remaining, but Deming sank a 3-pointer and Simarron Schildt made a jumper to give Montana a 61-58 lead with 1:38 left in regulation.
MSU's All-American forward LaToya Thomas answered with a traditional 3-point play to tie the score 61-61 with 1:21 left. The two teams then traded turnovers on their next possessions to force overtime.
In overtime, Mississippi State controlled the boards, collecting six of their 26 offensive rebounds in the extra five-minute period. The Lady Bulldogs converted those extra scoring chances into eight points. From there, MSU made six straight free throws in the final 44 seconds to secure the win.
Montana shot well from the field for the second straight game, making 45 percent of its shots, including 54 percent in the first half. MSU, meanwhile, made only 37.5 percent of its field goals, but used its dominance on the glass, outrebounding Montana 58-33.
"It was a great game," UM head coach Robin Selvig said. "We gave ourselves some chances to win. We had some good looks at the end, but they just didn't go in. Their offensive rebounds eventually cost us. They had a lot of second shots down the stretch. But I learned a lot of things about our team this weekend, and they are all positive things."
Keller, a 5-foot-8 senior from Turner, Mont., was named to the all-tournament team along with freshman center Hollie Tyler. Tyler finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Lady Griz will next be in action Friday night when they play host to the University of Utah in a 7:35 p.m. game at Dahlberg Arena.
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