STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jessika Carter had 21 points and 11 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season and five Mississippi State players scored in double figures as the No. 10 Bulldogs beat Arkansas 92-83 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs (24-5, 12-3 Southeastern Conference) shot 58% and dominated in the paint, outscoring the Razorbacks 56-34 inside and had a 38-25 edge in rebounding.
The Razorbacks (21-7, 9-6) built a 26-24 lead in the first quarter behind 16 points from Alexis Tolefree.
The Bulldogs limited Tolefree to just three points in the second and third quarter.
Tolefree finished with 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting and had eight rebounds.
Mississippi State outscored the Razorbacks by 21 points after the first quarter and had a 77-58 advantage going into the final frame.
The biggest issue for the Razorbacks was the lack of production from leading scorer Chelsea Dungee. Having averaged 17.8 points entering the game, Dungee was held to a season-low four points on 1-of-13 shooting. Amber Ramirez had 18 points and hit 6 of 10 3-pointers.
For the Bulldogs, Aliyah Matharu provided a spark as a starter in place of Rickea Jackson, who was sideline with an illness. Matharu, a freshman, finished with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds.
Jordan Danberry, a Conway native who began her career at Arkansas, had 19 points as the Bulldogs’ lone senior on Senior Night. Andra Espinoza-Hunter had 13 points off the bench, and Chloe Bibby finished with 11 points.
Mississippi State has won 10 straight games in the series with the Razorbacks. Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer, a former Arkansas assistant coach under Gary Blair, has been the coach for all 10 wins during the streak and has never lost to the Razorbacks.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State: After being beaten by Alabama at home last Sunday, despite leading by 13 points in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs didn’t let it happen again. They locked up a No. 2 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament with the win.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks’ inability to limit other team’s offenses has hurt them in their losses this year, and they surrendered 80 or more points in the last two games leading to back-to-back losses.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State travels to Ole Miss on Sunday.
Arkansas hosts LSU on Sunday.