Bulldogs power by tough TCU team to advance in WBIT, 68-61

Game one of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament was a blowout for Mississippi State against Georgia Tech, but Sam Purcell knew that game two wouldn’t be as easy.

A TCU team that had fought through injuries and lack of numbers all year came to town with no fear and the Horned Frogs had a lead in the final 5 minutes. State had to dig down deep and find a way to make sure that the Humphrey Coliseum crowd went home happy as the team closed on a 14-5 run to win 68-61 on Sunday.

The win moved State (23-11) to the MBIT Quarterfinals.

“You watched two teams that are highly competitive and that have had an unbelievable season,” Purcell said. “We knew it would be an absolute dog fight. We knew that it would be a 40 minute war and I’m just thankful we were the better team at the end to pull it out.”

Defense the difference for Bulldogs despite 3-point barrage

State had to deal with a good game from long range from the Horned Frogs as the visitors shot 12-of-29 from long range while making just 10-of-25 inside the 3-point line. While TCU did some damage from distance, the Bulldogs’ defensive gameplan was stellar.

TCU (22-14) turned the ball over 18 with the Bulldogs scoring 19 points off of those. State also held 6’7 post player Sedona Prince to 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and turned her over six times.

Jessika Carter had the assignment on the talented Prince and did a nice job of disrupting her game. Carter also finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting with 7-of-8 makes on the free throw line and eight rebounds in 33 minutes.

“It was a fun game today just playing against someone like (Prince). I haven’t played against someone with that size or length this whole season. Just having that matchup was preparing me for the pros and she is an amazing player,” Carter said. “I just gave my team what I could to win the ball game no matter if it was on defense or offense.”

The senior from Georgia played in her 150^th game in school history to break the all-time record in Starkville. She also secured her 1,117^th career rebound which moved her past LaToya Thomas for second in school history behind Teaira McCowan.

A Horned Frog team that has struggled with depth this year due to injuries wouldn’t go away quietly on Sunday. State came out pressing and defending with intensity in the first half and the Bulldogs were able to build a 17-13 lead after a quarter and 34-28 advantage at the break.

The third quarter saw the Bulldogs build that lead to 11 points but a 12-0 run from the Horned Frogs would give TCU the lead briefly in the third quarter. State recovered to get the lead back but it was just 44-42 as TCU held the Bulldogs to 10 points.

After getting the advantage back out to six points in the fourth, State struggled to close the game down and TCU took a lead at 56-54 with under 5 minutes left. The timeout sparked something in the Bulldogs because State finished strong and scored 14 of the final 19 points on the way to the win.

Jerkaila Jordan joined Carter in double figures as she dropped 15 in the game on 6-of-13 shooting with five rebounds and three assists all while dealing with an illness. Lauren Park-Lane had eight points, eight assists and four rebounds as she extended her school record for single season assists to 211.

Both teams shot 41% in the game with the Bulldogs making 24-of-58 shots and TCU 22-of-54, but the 3-pointer kept the Horned Frogs in it as they made 12 of those and State was just 2-of-12.

State neutralized that a bit by making 18-of-20 from the line to TCU’s 5-of-9 and the Bulldogs won the rebounds 36-34. MSU also had 34 points in the paint to 16 with a strong finish down low that led to Purcell having a chance to speak to his team at center court postgame after another win.

“This is the best time of the year and I just want to enjoy it. It’s special,” Purcell said. “We’re not in the Big Dance, but we’re in the Little Dance right now and still dancing. We’re proud to put on that uniform, we’re proud to play in front of our fanbase. There is still a lot of individual opportunities for my young women but ultimately our team name gets back on the map that we’re not dead but we’re still alive.”

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs survive and advance to the Quarterfinals of the WBIT now and are set to play the winner of Penn State and Belmont that will be played on Monday night. A win for Belmont will have State hosting round three of the tournament back in Starkville, but the team is ready to go wherever it needs to be to continue to play together.

“I think everybody felt some type of way since we didn’t make it to the NCAA Tournament and that was our goal, but we had to change our mindset,” Park-Lane said. “Coming into the WBIT, we didn’t want to come in here and lose this tournament. We wanted to come out and compete and I think everybody changed their mindset to finishing out the year and competing.”