No. 7 LSU Handles Mississippi State, 81-67, Despite Second-Quarter Surge
A 12-0 run for Mississippi State in the second quarter made for a competitive few minutes but No. 7 LSU was never in danger against the Bulldogs.
The Tigers dominated in the post in the second half and had two players score 20 or more points with four in double figures on the way to an 81-67 victory. It was the third-straight loss for the Bulldogs.
State fell behind by 18 points in the second quarter before going on a 12-0 run and cutting the lead to as close as four at 37-33. LSU had a 41-35 lead at the break but pushed the lead back out in the second half leading 65-54 going to the fourth and they had as much as a 78-61 advantage with 3 minutes remaining.
“In the second quarter I thought you saw the team battle back but obviously it was too big a margin,” coach Sam Purcell said. “We were just relaxing. We just had to see the ball go in and our rebounding was phenomenal. This is a tough place to play and we fought.”
Shooting woes and turnovers an issue for the Bulldogs in defeat
The Bulldogs had an ice-cold showing from the field in the game shooting 35% (25-of-72) with 7-of-31 makes from three. The Bulldogs also turned it over 19 times in the game and handed LSU 23 points off of those turnovers.
State did win the rebounding against an excellent rebounding squad with a 49-48 edge. Aneesah Morrow had 20 of those rebounds and scored 18 points in the win for LSU. Mikaylah Williams had 22 points, Flau’jae Johnson had 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range and Jersey Wolfenbarger had 12 points and seven rebounds.
“You’ve got to tip your hat – Mikaylah Williams was one of the top prospects in the country coming out of high school,” Purcell said. “Just as we were getting it to nine or eight, she kept coming up with that dagger three or that two.”
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It was a solid game from State’s bench as it outscored the Tigers 33-7.Eniya Russell was one of those that came off the bench for the first time and she scored 13 points. Russell was just 5-of-15 from the field and 3-of-10 from three including going 1-for-6 from long range in the second half.
Quanirah Montague scored 10 points and had nine rebounds off the bench in 17 minutes while shooting 5-of-6 and Destiney McPhaul had 10 points. Jerkaila Jordan was held to nine points on 2-of-12 shooting after scoring 40 points on Monday night.
Up Next
The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 16-7 and 3-6 in SEC play and have lost three-straight games. State will attempt to end that skid as they have a two-game homestand next week with Arkansas coming to Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. No. 22 Alabama will be in Starkville on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on SEC Network.
“It’s the SEC – you try to steal one on the road and now we’re heading home. There’s no better feeling coming back so I urge our fans to keep supporting our team,” Purcell said. They’re eager to get that taste of winning back.”
