AUBURN, Ala. -- Mississippi State was dominant early and downright overpowering late. In between, Auburn closed the gap, but it wasn't nearly enough against the deeper, bigger Bulldogs.
Victoria Vivians scored 17 points and Chinwe Okorie added 16 to lead the fifth-ranked Bulldogs to a 77-47 win over the Tigers on Thursday night that was dominant everywhere but in the middle.
Mississippi State (22-1, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) built a big lead early, lost most of it and then muscled its way back into control with a 17-0 stretch extending into the fourth quarter. The Tigers (15-8, 5-4) went 5:32 without scoring after cutting the margin to six points.