Bulldogs have to bounce back quick with defending national champions South Carolina
A 13-1 start was nice for Mississippi State women’s basketball but reality set in on Thursday night that the SEC is an absolute gauntlet.
The Bulldogs went to Lexington, Ky., and took on a No. 16 Kentucky team coached by a new staff led by former Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks. The veteran coach brought over one of the best point guards in the country in Georgia Amoore and she lit up the Bulldogs for 27 points and nine assists on 7-of-10 3-point shooting along with another 7-of-11 performance and 28 points from Dazia Lawrence.
The end result was a humbling 91-69 blowout by the Wildcats that saw them hit a school-record 18 3-pointers. For a team that takes pride in defense, it was a tough watch for coach Sam Purcell.
“We’re obviously disappointed. I thought our preparation coming out of Christmas was great and we had a great shootaround,” Purcell said of the Kentucky loss. “I think Georgia Amoore who is an All-American played like an All-American. They have great length leading the SEC in blocked shots and they had 10 (Thursday).
“(Jerkaila Jordan) and Eniya (Russell) took some forced shots, and we could have gotten easier shots to chip away that lead. It was the perfect storm with them making a bunch of shots and slowing down making a ton of free throws. We’ll learn from this.”
Jordan and Russell combined for 30 of their own points but they did so with 12-of-36 shooting. It dropped State to 13-2 on the season and has the Bulldogs in a 0-1 hole in SEC play heading into an even tougher slate of games over the next week.
First up on the docket will be the defending champions of South Carolina and the Gamecocks enter 13-1 and are coming off a 83-52 blowout of Missouri on Thursday night on the road. Dawn Staley just finished off a dominant season from a year ago in which the Gamecock reeled off an incredible 38-0 record and another national title.
This team returns key pieces like Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, Raven Johnson and others and the bench has been just as effective as the starters. It makes for a nightmare to gameplan for every coach in the league.
Top 10
- 1New
AP Poll
Hoops Top 25 shakeup
- 2
Agiye Hall commits
Former 5-star surprise commitment
- 3Trending
Urban Meyer
Declaring SEC dominance over
- 4
Squirrel White
Former Vols WR ACC bound
- 5
Zachariah, Zion Branch
USC playmakers SEC bound
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“They are the standard, they are the bar,” Purcell said of South Carolina. “In year one I was able to junk it up and they didn’t have the shooters. Year two they obviously did. Year three, she’s absolutely loaded. One through 15 they’ve got depth.
“There’s no better feeling of coming off the road and coming home and I’m urging our fans to come out and support like no other. It’s going to be an absolute dog fight, but we’re going to give our best.”
Following Sunday’s 1 p.m. tilt (SEC Network) at home, the Bulldogs will have to host No. 9 Oklahoma at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday night. It’s what life in the SEC has become these days and it’s what Purcell and his players signed up for when they became Bulldogs.
This wee and moving forward, Purcell said it will be a game-by-game process for his team to make it through and get into March’s Big Dance.
“It’s just a one-game mentality. The SEC is a beast,” Purcell said. “We play last year’s defending national champion on Sunday and the bottom is just as good as the top. You’ve got to be able to have a mindset to steal one on the road and when you’re at home you’ve got to protect your home.”
