The Associated Press

STARKVILLE, Miss. - LaToya Thomas had 36 points 10 rebounds for No. 20 Mississippi State, which piled up a huge advantage on the boards and beat No. 18 Cincinnati 76-70 Friday night.

Mississippi State (3-1), which also got 17 points from Tan White, recovered from a preseason WNIT tournament loss to Penn State. The Lady Bulldogs had a 38-20 edge in rebounding.

Valerie King led Cincinnati (0-1) with 27 points. Debbie Merrill added 22.

Cincinnati took a 31-29 halftime lead after shooting 57 percent. Mississippi State made 31 percent in the first 20 minutes.

The Lady Bulldogs improved their percentage in the second half to 63 on 17-of-27 shooting.

No. 20 MISSISSIPPI ST. 76, No. 18 CINCINNATI 70

Cincinnati (70)--Alexander 3-6 5-7 11, Young 1-2 1-2 3, Merrill 9-13 4-4 22, Sharp 3-11 0-0 7, King 8-12 6-6 27, Dozier 0-1 0-1 0, Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Hillman 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0, Stephesn 0-0 0-0 0.

Mississippi St.--Thomas 12-20 12-13 36, Bates 0-2 3-4 3, Chekwa 4-10 0-0, Jones 1-5 0-0 2, White 8-16 0-2 17, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, McKinney 2-6 4-4 8, Anderson 1-3 0-0 2, Stringfellow 0-0 0-0 0, Burton 0-0 0-0 0, McGhee 0-0 0-0 0.

Halftime: Cincinnati 31, Mississippi St. 29. 3-point goals: Cincinnati 6-14 (Sharp 1-5, King 5-8, Dozier 0-1), Mississippi St. 1-6 (Chekwa 0-1, Jones 0-1, White 1-4).