No. 21/21 Mississippi State Falls To Chattanooga
Credit: Mississippi State Athletics
No. 21/21 Mississippi State fell 59-53 to Chattanooga inside McKenzie Arena on Sunday, Dec. 3.
Senior guard Jerkaila Jordan finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, while graduate student guard Lauren Park-Lane eclipsed 2,000 career points with 14 points and four assists in the effort.
A pair of threes from Jordan and sophomore guard Debreasha Powe provided the Bulldogs an early 6-5 lead at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Jordan knocked down a pair of free throws and freshman guard Jasmine Brown Hagger took a charge on the other end to help Mississippi State seize some momentum in the road environment.
Park-Lane answered right back to quick threes from Chattanooga with a triple of her own from the top of the key to make the score 11-8. With the score tied at 11, Jordan finished back-to-back scores over the final minutes of the frame to give Mississippi State a 16-11 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
Park-Lane knocked down another deep three to open the second quarter that extended the margin to 19-11 and surpassed the 2,000-point mark for her career. She didn’t take long to add to the total with a pull-up jumper on the next possession before the Mocs responded with a pair of threes to pull the score back to one possession at 21-19.
Each team traded baskets throughout the remainder of the second quarter as Mississippi State commanded a 32-26 lead into the half. The Bulldogs outrebounded their opponent 19-11 and connected on 6-11 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Park-Lane drained her third three of the game from the left corner and Rogers knocked down a jump shot to extend the lead to 37-26 – the Bulldogs’ largest lead of the contest – at the 7:48 mark of the third quarter.
Chattanooga responded with a quick 10-4 run over the following minutes before a turnaround layup Jordan and a block from junior forward Nyayongah Gony on the defensive end secured Mississippi State a 43-36 edge at the third quarter media timeout.
After the Mocs pulled the margin back to within a possession at 44-42, Rogers knocked down a free throw and the hosts beat the buzzer to keep the score at 45-44 heading into the final quarter.
The Bulldogs lead for 26:27 of action and trailed for 1:45 heading into the final quarter.
Chattanooga took its first lead since the 7:42 mark of the first quarter on an inside finish at 46-45. A corner three from Powe took the lead right back at 48-46 with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter. Chattanooga went on a run with baskets at the end of the shot clock until the eventual final.
Mississippi State will be back in action against Kennesaw State inside Humphrey Coliseum on Dec. 11.
