No. 1 South Carolina survives at Mississippi State, 58-51

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Zia Cooke scored 16 points and Aliyah Boston added 12 to help No. 1 South Carolina remain unbeaten with a 58-51 win over Mississippi State on Sunday.

The Gamecocks were held to a season-low point total on 19 of 65 (29%) shooting, but were able to find a way. Boston added 15 rebounds in the win.

South Carolna (16-0, 3-0 SEC) had a massive advantage at the free throw line where the Gamecocks were 14 of 24 while MSU was 2 of 5. The Gamecocks also dominated the boards with a 53-35 edge including 22 offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs also surrendered 25 offensive rebounds to Tennessee in a loss earlier this week.

It was another stellar defensive showing for Mississippi State (12-5, 1-3), which is second in the SEC in scoring defense and top five nationally. South Carolina came into the game averaging 82 points.

Jerkaila Jordan led the way for the Bulldogs against the defending National Champions with 13 points and five rebounds. Jessika Carter had 11 points on 5 of 11 with nine rebounds and had nine of those points in the fourth quarter.

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: The Gamecocks were challenged in a big way by the Bulldogs but survived to stay undefeated. The defending champs have been absolutely dominant this year with only three games decided by single digits. They remain the team to beat in the SEC yet again.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs were looking for a spark after back-to-back losses to Ole Miss and Tennessee and they got it. State will now look to get back on track with some wins.

UP NEXT:

South Carolina will stay on the road traveling to Kentucky next Thursday.

Mississippi State is off until next Sunday when the Bulldogs travel to Texas A&M.

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