No. 9 LSU drops second straight game, 77-73 to Mississippi State on the road

LSU entered Monday night’s contest against Mississippi State looking to rebound from a loss to South Carolina this weekend. However, the Bulldogs came out on a mission in front of a sellout crowd as they toughed out a 77-73 victory in the final minutes at Humphrey Coliseum.

Mississippi State used a big second half to pull away, outscoring the Tigers 28-17 in the third quarter to take a 63-57 advantage into the fourth. The Bulldogs increased their lead to as many as nine points over the final 10 minutes before LSU started to mount a comeback.

The Tigers went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit down to a single-possession game with under two minutes remaining. That’s when Darrione Rogers nailed a clutch 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining to increase the lead back to six points.

That proved to be the final dagger as LSU had to resort to fouling to keep the game alive. The Tigers again cut the lead down to three points after Mikayla Williams hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to make it 76-73. However, Rogers was fouled on the next possession and made 1-of-2 free throws to seal the win.

Jerkaila Jordan led Mississippi State with 24 points in the win while Rogers chipped in another 19 off the bench. Jordan scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half, including 12 in the third quarter where she went 4-for-4.

Forward Angel Reese led LSU in the loss with 20 points and 18 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season and her fifth in the past six games.

Freshman Mjracle Sheppard also had a big game off the bench for the Bulldogs to add 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and six steals. Her defensive play helped to cause 21 LSU turnovers.

The victory against LSU marked the first top-10 win for Mississippi State since 2018. It is also the first time in two years that the Tigers have lost back-to-back games.

Mississippi State improved to 17-5 (4-3 SEC) with the win, and has now won four of its past five games. As for LSU, it fell to 18-4 (5-3) and currently ranks just fourth in the conference standings.

The Tigers will hope to figure things out quickly before their next matchup against Florida at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. As for the Bulldogs, they will look to keep that success going as they hit the road to take on Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday for a quick turnaround.