Mississippi State falls in Missouri 75-62 on Thursday night. The loss moves the Bulldogs’ record to 18-8 overall and 7-6 in the SEC.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the first quarter, holding Missouri to shooting just 31% from the field. Turnovers stole State’s momentum, committing five in the second quarter to go into halftime down by four.
JerKaila Jordan started the game with hot hands knocking down back-to-back threes before ending the game with four, tying her season high. Jordan has scored in double-figures in five SEC games, with two games scoring 20 plus points.
Ahlana Smith’s three-point game showed out, tying her career-high with five made threes. Smith has now scored in double-figures in three straight games. Asianae Johnson was a spark off the bench for the Bulldogs, knocking down 11 points and two rebounds, and led the team with four assists.
Turning Point
Heading into the second quarter, Mississippi State had a six-point lead but quickly lost momentum with the Tigers going on a 22-7, taking their first lead of the game.
Game Notes
Charlotte Kohl made her second start of the season, the 13th of her career
Bulldogs’ first nine points came from behind the three-point line
State has won the rebound battle in the last three games
State outrebounded the Tigers 34-26
Tied Missouri with 23 bench points and 22 points in the paint
Quoting Coach Sam Purcell
On handling the pressure of the NCAA Tournament Talk
“I think we handled it great. We talked about it in the locker room, I told them we bend but we don’t break, we’ve said that before. Obviously, we weren’t prepared for Jessika [Carter] not being here, that’s 18 points and 10 rebounds a game, it is what it is. We came out in the first quarter; we just didn’t execute the threes in the next three [quarters]. We just have to go back home, play with that magic of our crowd to help give us that lift and try to find a way against a really good Alabama team. You do it one game at a time, there’s no pressure. Our pressure is just trying to play our best basketball, which, unfortunately, we didn’t do tonight.”
Up Next
Mississippi State is back home on Sunday when they host Alabama. The Bulldogs will honor five seniors before the contest against the Crimson Tide. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.
