On Thursday night, the Mississippi State University women's basketball team (20-7, 7-6 SEC) suffered its third straight loss to the University of Kentucky (11-16, 4-9 SEC) in the Southeastern Conference, 78-68.
Despite having a large lead and building a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs ran out of gas and were outscored 24-5 by Kentucky in the fourth quarter, missing out on the victory.
After the game, Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell praised Kentucky's effort.
“First and foremost, I want to give Kentucky credit. We were up 29-19 in the third quarter, and obviously it's a dagger for them to come back and match that with a 24-5 run in the fourth quarter. said Purcell.
Coming home from an overtime loss to the University of Mississippi, the Bulldogs were desperate for more conference wins. Meanwhile, Kentucky was looking for its first SEC road win of the season.
Early in the first quarter, Mississippi State performed well offensively, making three of its first four shots on second chances.
Kentucky's offense was slow to get off the ground, but eventually found some speed at the media timeout to bring the score to 16-11. After the timeout, MSU looked to take a 21-14 lead, but Kentucky stayed calm and went on a 12-1 run in the final 2:07 of the quarter to take its first lead of the night. .
For the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter, the Bulldogs' offense stalled, making only one free throw, while Kentucky's defense raved about its success late in the first quarter. Regardless of the defense's success, the Wildcats' offense struggled to knock down shots against the Bulldogs' defense.
With 4:49 left, Lauren Parklane hit a jump shot to end the Bulldogs' offensive drought and make the game 33-24.
The Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game and went on an 8-2 run to tie Kentucky's lead heading into halftime.
Once the second half began, MSU picked up where it left off, going on a 9-0 run and regaining the lead within the first three minutes. But UK refused to go down without a fight and cut MSU's lead to 48-45 with 4:49 left in the third.
Despite Kentucky being within close range, Mississippi State maintained its offensive rhythm with the help of Jessica Carter, who scored 10 of MSU's 29 points in the third quarter.
Entering the fourth quarter, MSU led 63-54 and looked like they would end the final 10 minutes the same way they had in the third. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs' offense allowed seven turnovers in the final five and a half minutes of the game, while Kentucky went on a 19-0 run to win.
Purcell said the Bulldogs' turnover problems stem from poor shooting from the outside.
“I don’t think we’re shooting it well from the outside, but after that we’re working hard.” [Jessika Carter]for the first 20 [points] and 20 [rebounds] Because 2019 is special. We knew we had a hot hand and we weren't hitting her outside shots, so there were a lot of situations where we tried to get her the ball, and of those turnovers. I think some of it happened like it happened last time. That is our commitment to her,” Purcell said. “She laid it all out…that's why she's one of the best post players in the country.”
With the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament looming, the Bulldogs desperately need to find a way to shut out the final quarter and get back in the win column.
Purcell talked about the tournament and stressed the need for the team to get healthy and focus on the next game.
“I can't even go there,” Purcell said. “We just have to focus on one game. Alabama is really good, a really big net chance, and we have to put this energy into, and most importantly… Above all, we have to be healthy.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the University of Alabama (20-8, 7-6 SEC) on Sunday at 4 p.m., with the game being streamed on the SEC Network.
