Dec. 16, 2000

Box Score

Starkville, MS - Andrea Gardner was only part of the problem Saturday versus Stony Brook. The junior pulled down 27 rebounds and had 25 points as the Bison (4-2) downed Stony Brook (7-3), 79-74, at the Mississippi State tournament. As a team, the Bison outrebounded the Seawolves, 56-34, collecting 27 second chance opportunities in the victory.

The Seawolves will play either Louisiana-Lafayette or Mississippi State in the consolation game on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (EST).

The Bison owned a 43-35 halftime advantage by shooting 47% from the floor. With 4:37 left in the first half, the Bison used a 12-3 run over the next three minutes to turn a two-point edge into its largest lead of the game at 42-31.

The Seawolves countered with a 13-4 run as the second half opened and took its first lead of the game at 48-47 on Erika Shipley's lay-up. The junior scored a career-high 18 points in the game - 16 that came in the second half.

The game remained nip-and-tuck until 8:36 remained. Howard went on a 9-0 run to take a 72-63 lead with 4:02 to go, holding the Seawolves scoreless for a span of 4:32. Three straight Shipley lay-ups got the Seawolves back to within 72-69 with 2:40 remaining. Sherry Jordan's tying three-pointer with 2:12 remaining missed and Howard countered with back-to-back layups to close out the game.

Sherry Jordan had 22 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in the loss. Jill George recorded her first double-double since December 14 of last season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jessica Burch scored 11 points and had three assists.