FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Chelsea Dungee scored 22 points, surpassing 2,000 for her career, and her three free throws and a steal in the last 20 seconds helped No. 18-ranked Arkansas turn aside a second-half challenge from Mississippi State 86-80 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs, who trailed 48-35 at halftime, had closed to 71-69 midway through the fourth quarter when Dungee grabbed the rebound of a Razorbacks miss and put it back up, getting fouled and converting the three-point play.
She added two more, reaching 2,001 points, on a driving layup on the next possession and finishing at 2,004 career points. She began as a freshman at Oklahoma before transferring to Arkansas and sitting out the 2017-18 season. Last season, Mississippi State had held Dungee to four points.
Destiny Slocum led Arkansas (15-7, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Amber Ramirez scored 12. The Razorbacks shot 58% for the game (32 of 55) and scored 23 points off 18 Mississippi State turnovers and 17 more at the free throw line.
Myah Taylor led the Bulldogs (8-6, 3-5) with 22 points, sinking five 3-pointers with six rebounds and seven assists. It was Taylor’s first 20-point game this season, second of her career. Mississippi State was 12 of 27 from distance to Arkansas’ 5 of 11.
Aliyah Matharu added 17 points for the Bulldogs, Rickea Jackson scored 12 with seven rebounds and Jessika Carter scored 11.
Mississippi State had not played since losing to then-No. 4 South Carolina on Jan. 28. The Bulldogs have lost four in a row and lost for the first time in the last 11 meetings in the series with Arkansas.
The Bulldogs stormed into the second half, slicing away at Arkansas’ 15-point lead with a 12-1 run. The Razorbacks had five turnovers and no field goals in 4:03 of third quarter as Mississippi State outscored them 16-5 to make it a two-point game, 53-51.
The Bulldogs next have a rematch with Ole Miss on Sunday, then face No.16 Tennessee Tuesday and Auburn Thursday. Arkansas plays host to Ole Miss on Feb. 18.
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