No. 10 Georgia 75, Mississippi 62

1/10/2008 9:30 PM

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -In 75 seconds, Ole Miss guard Shantell Black almost single-handedly wiped out a double-digit deficit.

Black scored nine straight points early in the second half as the upstart Lady Rebels threatened. But after a timeout by Georgia, the No. 10 Lady Bulldogs took charge again and finished with a 75-62 win Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Georgia (14-1 overall, 1-0 SEC) led 38-27 at halftime, but Black trimmed the margin to 40-36 with 17:01 to play. After the timeout, a 15-2 run by Georgia pushed the lead to 60-42 with 11:07 to go when Tasha Humphrey made a short jumper.

Megan Darrah led five Georgia players in double figures with 19 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.

``She rebounded, she shot the ball well and she defended well,'' coach Andy Landers said.

Landers credited Ole Miss (6-8, 0-1) for its comeback. ``I don't know anybody in the SEC who folds the tent,'' he said. But he added that he thought Ashley Houts, who was guarding Black, relaxed defensively.

``She puppy dogged her man a little,'' he said. ``She just followed her around rather than defending her. Nine straight points. Ashley is really a better defender than that.''

Mississippi made one more run, scoring eight straight points on four free throws and two layups to cut the gap to 65-55 with 5:21 remaining.

``I'm proud of my team for not quitting,'' said Mississippi coach Renee Ladner, in her first season as a head coach. ``The bottom line was the turnovers really broke our backs. We're still young and are still learning in terms of our decision-making.''

Angel Robinson scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Georgia, while Humphrey scored 14, Angela Puleo 13 and Houts 11.

Shawn Goff led Ole Miss (6-8, 0-1) with 18 points. Black scored 14 and Elizabeth Robertson 13.