Alexis Rack scores 34 to help Mississippi State send No. 9 Georgia to 74-66 loss

Rack leads Miss. St. past No. 9 Georgia 74-66

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Alexis Rack had 34 points and Mississippi State scored its second straight upset of a ranked team with a 74-66 win over No. 9 Georgia on Thursday night.

Rack scored 24 points in the second half as Mississippi State (14-7, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) pulled away, sending Georgia (18-3, 5-3) to its second straight loss and third in five games after a 16-0 start.

Georgia entered the game with a reputation for defense, but Mississippi State used its own pressure to build an early lead that Rack preserved with big shot after big shot.

Georgia hit just 36.4 percent of its shots (24 of 66) and only 4 of 19 3-pointers. Meredith Mitchell led Georgia with 16 points and Porsha Phillips had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the fourth win against a ranked opponent this season for Mississippi State, which beat then-No. 20 Vanderbilt on Sunday.

Mississippi State hadn’t beaten an opponent ranked as high since 2001, when it beat No. 9 Florida. It was the second straight loss for Georgia, which fell to Mississippi on Sunday.

Georgia missed 13 of its first 21 shots and didn’t have a field goal in the final 4½ minutes of the first half. Mississippi State outscored Georgia 18-8 over the final 8:11 to lead 35-25 at halftime.

That included a 12-2 spurt in the final 4:23 that was punctuated by two 3-pointers from Rack. Chanel Mokango also was effective during that final flurry with two blocks, two defensive rebounds and a field goal.

Georgia turned up the defense to start the second half, holding Mississippi State two just two field goals in the first 6 minutes. But they were 3-pointers from Rack, who would keep her team in the game by scoring 13 of the Lady Bulldogs’ first 16 second-half points.

Each time Georgia made a small run, Rack came up with a big play. Georgia cut the lead to 43-37 on a pair of free throws from Houts. Rack answered by pulling down an offensive rebound, dribbling through four players, then throwing up a layup as she fell to the floor.

That was the start of a quick six-point spurt that Rack capped off by hitting three straight free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot. That gave Mississippi State its biggest lead, 49-37, with 11:17 left.

She hit a 3 2 minutes later to help end another threat by Georgia, pushed the lead to 13 with another 3 with 6:49 remaining and gave the Lady Bulldogs their biggest lead with yet another 3 to make it 64-48 with 4:35 left. Georgia would outscore Mississippi State 18-10 the rest of the way, cutting it as close as 68-64, but Mississippi State hit six straight free throws to end the game.

Rack hit 7 of 10 3-point shots and 9 of 9 free throws in the win. Armelie Lumanu scored 15 points and Mokango had 14 points and five blocks.