STARKVILLE, Miss. �- Down by just eight at halftime, the Centenary women's basketball team could not harness its momentum in the second period against a tough and stingy Mississippi State squad, falling 76-57.
After a shaking start, Centenary (0-1) stormed back with an 18-6 run in the last 8:30 minutes to bring the lead down to four. However, Mississippi State (2-0) went on a 4-0 run near the end of the first half and was able to take an eight point advantage into the locker room.
At the first timeout of the game the Ladies were shooting just 20 percent from the field, but as the first period moved on Centenary's shooting percent went up. At the break, the Ladies shot an outstanding 56 percent from the floor going 13-of-23.
Freshman Anne Farrell and junior Karolina Zaloga led the Ladies with six points, while sophomore Leslie Forest had five rebounds in the first stanza. As a team the Ladies cleaned up the glass, crashing the boards 20 times, while holding the Lady Bulldogs to 14 rebounds.
"I knew we were going be nervous coming out," said head coach Steve Curtis. This was our first game, while Mississippi Stated played on Friday. We got down early, but I was pleased with the way we came back."
The outstanding shooting could not continue for the Ladies in the second period, as they shot just 24 percent from the field, going 6-of-25. For the Lady Bulldogs they connected on 12-of-34 from the field and were 5-for-12 from outside.
However, contributing to Centenary's misfortunes was its 28 turnovers, while MSU only lost the ball nine times.
Leading the way for the Ladies was junior Cierra Bush, who had 16 points, while freshman Ashley Jackson had 11. Rounding out the double figures for Centenary was Zaloga, who had 11 points and seven rebounds, while Forest also had seven boards. For MSU, Alexis Rack had 14 points, while Bethany Washington had 10.
"I'm so proud of our effort today. I really like our team this season, because we have the potential to be good," said Curtis. "However, we to have play hard for 40 minutes not just 30."
Centenary will now return to action on Tuesday, when it takes the short trip over to Louisiana-Monroe for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
