Mississippi St. 81, No. 20 Arkansas 73

1/7/2007 5:36 PM

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -Marneshia Richard had 23 points and four steals to lead Mississippi State to an 81-73 victory over No. 20 Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference game Sunday.

The Lady Bulldogs (10-5, 1-0) started newcomers at every position but played like veterans, hitting key free throws and dominating the boards.

With her team trailing 44-34 with 18:25 left in the second half, Mississippi State coach Sharon Fanning called a time-out to settle her squad. It worked. Alexis Rack hit a 3-pointer and Richard got a steal and layup and Mississippi State's deficit was cut in half.

That started a 13-3 run that tied the game at 47 with 13:47 remaining. For the next 10 minutes, the two teams battled evenly, trading the lead until Richard's layup with 3:29 left gave the Lady Bulldogs a 68-67 edge they would never relinquish.

Imesia Jackson added 17 points for Mississippi State, and Miayorka Johnson had 11 points and Rack 10.

The win was Mississippi State's first over Arkansas since 2004, and only the second time the Lady Bulldogs have won in Fayetteville.

Arkansas (15-3, 0-2) led 40-34 at halftime after 3-pointers by Donica Cosby and Dominique Washington. The Lady Razorbacks committed just four first-half turnovers and held the Lady Bulldogs to 38 percent shooting.

But after the intermission, Arkansas hit just 1-of-10 3-point attempts, with Cosby making 1 of 7.

Sarah Pfeifer scored a season-high 21 points for Arkansas and Cosby finished with 19. Arkansas post player Lauren Ervin finished with 12 points after playing only 9 minutes in the first half because of early foul trouble.