Jackson, No. 9 Mississippi State beat Auburn 92-85 in OT

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Freshman Rickea Jackson scored nine of her season-high 34 points in overtime and No. 9 Mississippi State rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Auburn 92-85 on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs (23-4, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from a loss at No. 14 Kentucky with their second straight comeback win over the Tigers (9-15, 3-10).

Jackson took over this one with nine of the Bulldogs’ 13 points in overtime. She hit a short jumper and then made 1 of 2 free throws with 20 seconds left for a 90-85 lead.

Jamya Mingo-Young added two more foul shots.

Jackson, who topped her previous high by 10 points, made 14 of 22 shots. Jessika Carter added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who trailed by 14 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.

Unique Thompson led Auburn with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Daisa Alexander scored 21 and made all 12 foul shots. Robyn Benton scored 14 and Lauren Hansen 13.

The Bulldogs, who rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit against Auburn on Jan. 30 to win 78-73, trailed by 14 points with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Then they made their last seven shots of the quarter to start the comeback.

Alexander tied the game 79-all on a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left and neither team scored after that. Andra Espinoza missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Mississippi State forced a 10-second violation.

BIG PICTURE

Mississippi State shot 36 of 65 (55.4%) and outrebounded Auburn 38-26.

Auburn had a stretch of nearly eight minutes without a field goal stretching well into overtime. Alexander and Thompson combined for 24 of the Tigers first 28 points.

UP NEXT

Mississippi St. hosts Alabama on Sunday afternoon.

Auburn visits No. 16 Texas A&M Sunday afternoon.