Mississippi State women’s basketball beats Missouri
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STARKVILLE — Riding a five-game losing streak, Mississippi State women’s basketball entered Sunday as one of the last four teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN.
Facing Missouri, the last-place team in the SEC, at Humphrey Coliseum there was little MSU could do to strengthen its résumé. However, a loss could have deflated the Bulldogs’ chances. Coach Sam Purcell won’t have to worry about that scenario, as Mississippi State rode a big second half to a 90-75 victory against the Tigers.
Jerkaila Jordan, who was honored pregame as part of the senior day festivities, was a big reason why. After battling foul trouble in the first half, Jordan scored all 22 of her points in the second half. It was her best offensive performamce since she scored 24 points in a Jan. 29 upset of LSU.
Regardless of the result, Mississippi State (21-10, 8-8 SEC) was locked into the No. 8-seed for the SEC Tournament because of Auburn’s win on Sunday.
Mississippi State can’t slow down Missouri early
Mizzou (11-18, 2-14) jumped on Mississippi State early, riding its offense en route to a 40-39 lead at halftime. It marked the first time the Tigers led a game at the break since a Jan. 18 win against Georgia, which was also the last time Mizzou won.
Missouri shot 58.6% from the field in the first half, thanks in large part to a 9-for-10 start to the game. The 25 first-quarter points were the most for Mizzou since a Feb. 18 loss at Arkansas. The Tigers saw six players score in the first period.
While its defense struggled, Mississippi State’s offense kept pace with Mizzou’s. The Bulldogs shot 43.8% from the field in the first half and never trailed by more than five in the game. Darrione Rogers led MSU with nine of her 22 points in the first half.
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What’s next on Mississippi State’s schedule?
Mississippi State will play No. 9 seed Texas A&M (18-11, 6-10) on Thursday (11 a.m., SEC Network) in the second round of the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. If MSU wins, it will advance to face No. 1 South Carolina.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.
Read More: Mississippi State women’s basketball beats Missouri 2024-03-03 21:53:36