University of Missouri
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Mississippi State
@MizzouWBB Falls to Mississippi State, 70-53
2/5/2017 4:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore Sophie Cunningham led the Tigers with 19 points and nine rebounds
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Basketball's five-game winning streak was snapped at No. 5 Mississippi State on Sunday as the Tigers fell on the road, 70-53. Mizzou's win streak was its longest in conference play since 1990. The Tigers drop to 16-8 overall and 6-4 in Southeastern Conference play.
Sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) led Mizzou with 19 points and nine rebounds. Cunningham has reached double digits in 17 games during a standout sophomore campaign thus far.
Mizzou's trio of true freshmen, Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.), Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) and Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) combined to score 19 points off the bench. Roundtree finished with a career-high six points.
Mizzou outrebounded Mississippi State, 43-25, outpacing its opponent on the glass for the 18th time this season. Sunday's defeat marked just the fourth time during the 2016-17 campaign that the Tigers have lost when outrebounding their opponent.
Mississippi State senior guard Dominique Dillingham notched a career-high 24 points and senior Breanna Richardson poured in 13 second-half points to propel the Bulldogs to a win. The fifth-ranked Bulldogs shot 44.1 percent from the field.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle. Mizzou jumped ahead 6-2 early after a layup by Cunningham and a three-pointer by sophomore Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.), her eighth career trey. The two squads traded baskets throughout the frame. Mississippi State pushed in front 18-13, but Cunningham responded with a pair of tough buckets in the paint in the final minute to cut the deficit to one through 10 minutes.
A 9-0 run allowed the Bulldogs to surge ahead, 30-21, but again Cunningham answered, this time with five straight points to close the gap. Mississippi State took a 36-27 lead into halftime.
Mizzou went cold from the field in the third quarter and the Bulldogs capitalized by building a double-digit advantage it would not surrender. The Tigers continued to battle though, and managed to slice a 20-point deficit down to 11 when Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) hit a deep trey. Lindsey finished with eight points and seven rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes. Mississippi State prevented a comeback in the final minutes and earned its 23rd win of the season.
Mizzou continues a two-game road swing with a trip to No. 25 Tennessee on Thursday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network. For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter and like the team on Facebook and Instagram @MizzouWBB.
