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Bulldogs have tough task in Sunday battle at No. 7 LSU

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•about 8 hours•

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Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell

A week off was much needed for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team after a grueling loss on the road on Monday night.

Despite 40 points from star Jerkaila Jordan, State found itself in a battle with last-place Missouri on the road. The Tigers were down one in the final seconds before turning Jordan over and getting a desperation shot from Grace Slaughter that would fall in for the buzzer-beating win.

MSU’s 78-77 defeat to Mizzou just makes the journey to the NCAA Tournament that much tougher for a Bulldog team searching for resume building wins and trying to avoid bad losses.

“Obviously, it was a heartbreaker. We had some illnesses – Destiney (McPhaul) not being able to play that game. It’s life in basketball,” Purcell said. “We just didn’t get enough stops and that’s the bottom line. We’ve still got some kids under the weather, but our kids are having great practices. You’ve got to bring it night in and night out and it’s all about the next challenge.”

The frustrating part of the loss was that the offense has taken a step forward in the last couple of games. In a 96-56 win over Auburn, State turned the ball over nine times in a close first quarter but would limit that to seven the rest of the game as they cruised to the win.

State had six turnovers in the first against Mizzou and then turned it over just six times the next three quarters. Purcell believes improvements are taking place in that regard after the Bulldogs have shot themselves in the foot all season with ill-advised passing.

“We talked about simplifying the playbook and if simplifying will allow us to make easier reads and I think that’s worked,” Purcell said. “It’s being really committed to getting in the gym and getting better. I love the spirit of this team, but the spirit now has to be on the defensive end.”

The reward now for State (16-6, 3-5 SEC) is a road trip to No. 7 LSU (22-1, 7-1 SEC) as the Tigers welcome the Bulldogs to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday (1 p.m. SEC Network). LSU has had some close calls this season but they only loss on the schedule came last week at No. 2 South Carolina.

This LSU team scored 89 points per game and has stars like Falu’Jae Johnson (20.0 ppg, 5.9 rebounds), Annesah Morrow (18.7 ppg, 14.0 rpg) and Mikaylah Williams (16.8 ppg, 4.8 rbp). It’s a group that is pushing for another trip to the Final Four and State is an obstacle in its way.

On the Bulldogs’ side of things, they need something good to fall their way. Last year, State sprung an upset over the Tigers at The Hump and would love to do it again.

“They’ve got a lot of talent. They’ve got a lot of depth and play really well at home,” Purcell said. “It’s going to be an absolute war. We’re right there. These losses we’ve had we’ve been up nine or 11 (points) and it’s about finishing and having a dog mentality. I truly believe that our best basketball is ahead of us and we’ve got to ride the wave.”

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