No. 13 Georgia holds off Mississippi State

The Associated Press ·
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MARCH 24: Que Morrison #23 of the Georgia Lady Bulldogs calls out against the Oregon Ducks during the second half in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on March 24, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas.
Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / Getty

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Que Morrison scored 14 points, Mikayla Coombs added 13 and No. 13 Georgia built a 27-point early lead and then held on to beat Mississippi State 66-63 on Thursday night for its third straight win.

Georgia (15-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) also ended a six-game skid against Mississippi State (11-6, 2-3), and collected its first victory in Starkville since 2012.

Rickea Jackson's jumper gave Mississippi State its only lead of the game, 63-62, with 53 seconds remaining. Coombs answered with a corner jump shot before Denae Carter missed a jumper for Mississippi State.

Morrison added a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left. Jackson then missed a 3-point attempt to end it.

Jenna Staiti had 10 rebounds to go with eight points for Georgia, which outrebounded Mississippi State 50-28.

Georgia closed the first quarter on a 16-0 run, led 38-11 midway through the second and built a 44-24 halftime advantage. Morrison scored 10 points in the first half as Georgia shot 54.5% (18 of 33) and grabbed 20 more rebounds.

Jackson scored 27 points on 12-of-26 shooting for Mississippi State. Anastasia Hayes added 16 points and Myah Taylor had 11.

Georgia, which has played four of its last five games on the road, will host fifth-ranked Tennessee on Sunday. Mississippi State plays at Arkansas on Sunday.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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