Decatur’s Kayla Lewis leads Florida past Mississippi State

“I think Kayla’s athleticism is what you see because that’s what’s most obvious, but that’s more about her desire, the plays she made today,” Florida coach Amanda Butler said. “That’s what makes me proud of those numbers. It comes from a really positive, team-oriented place.”

Florida (19-11) advanced to play Kentucky (22-7) in the third round Friday. The Gators won both meetings against Kentucky this season.

Lewis helped Southwest DeKalb win three state championships and was Miss Georgia Basketball as a senior in 2010. After injuries slowed Lewis during her first two seasons with the Gators, she led them in rebounds and was the second-leading scorer in SEC games this season.

No. 13 seed Mississippi State (19-13) trailed 42-27 late in the first half before rallying. The Bulldogs went ahead 56-55 on a 3-pointer by Jerica James, their first lead since 14-13.

Florida’s Cassie Peoples answered with back-to-back baskets to start an 11-2 run. But the Bulldogs kept coming: Kendra Grant’s four-point play trimmed the lead to 66-62, and another Grant 3-pointer pulled them within 67-65 with 50 seconds left.

After Florida guard Jaterra Bonds made two free throws with 22 seconds to play, James scored on a layup to cut Florida’s lead to two again. Peoples made two free throws and then blocked a 3-point attempt by James to secure the victory.

“It was just good to survive,” Lewis said.

LSU 78, Alabama 65: The Lady Tigers snapped a six-game losing streak and advanced to play No. 2-seed Tennessee in the third round. LSU (19-11) led by 25 points with less than seven minutes to go and turned back a late charge by the Crimson Tide.

LSU senior center Shanece McKinney had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“Us seniors, we came in to the tournament with the mindset that this wasn’t going to be our last game together,” McKinney said. “We kept that in our heads.”

Shafontaye Myers led Alabama (14-16) with 27 points.

Auburn 70, Ole Miss 54: The No.-6 seed Tigers used a late 16-2 run to pull away from the 14th-seeded Rebels. Auburn (17-13) advanced to face No. 3-seed Texas A&M (23-7) in the quarterfinals.

Sisters Tyrese and Tra’Cee Tanner combined to score 33 points for Auburn. Valencia McFarland had 23 points and six assists for Ole Miss (12-20).

Late Wednesday: Ole Miss used a 13-2 run over the final 4:14 to defeat 11th-seeded Arkansas 63-62 in the first round. Ole Miss trailed 60-50, but came back to take a 61-60 lead on Gracie Frizzell's 3-pointer with 1:13 to go and won on Kenyotta Jenkins' basket with four seconds left.