OXFORD — By the third straight turnover, it was pretty much finished.
Mississippi State women’s basketball briefly appeared to be making a much-needed run Thursday night at rival Ole Miss. The Bulldogs got a steal and a layup at the halftime buzzer, then two straight baskets to start the third quarter.
Then the mistakes came back.
MSU’s Jessika Carter was called for a three-second violation. JerKaila Jordan was whistled for a double dribble. And Anastasia Hayes tossed an errant pass into the paint, where Ole Miss guard Myah Taylor — the Mississippi State transfer — picked it off.
Whatever minimal momentum the Bulldogs once had was gone.
The unsightly stretch characterized a poor performance from Mississippi State (15-6, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) in a 78-63 loss to Ole Miss (17-4, 6-2 SEC) at SJB Pavilion in Oxford.
“Tonight, we just didn’t execute, for whatever reason,” MSU coach Sam Purcell said.
The Rebels swept the regular-season series from the Bulldogs for the first time since 2003-04.
Taylor’s 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the first quarter put Ole Miss up double digits for good as the home team cruised to victory. The Rebels shot 9 of 19 from 3 (47.4 percent), blitzing the Bulldogs from deep.
Mississippi State, meanwhile, was just 2 of 8 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs shot 41.4 percent from the field Thursday and committed 11 turnovers.
MSU never really threatened, either. Ole Miss scored the game’s first seven points, pushed its lead to 11 on Snudda Collins’ second 3-pointer of the first quarter and never trailed.
“They were ready,” Purcell said. “They came out and punched us in the face, and then from there, we were just in a dogfight trying to stay in the game and claw back.:
A 19-point second quarter helped the Bulldogs keep the game from getting truly out of hand, but Ole Miss outscored MSU by two points in the period anyway.
After the buzzer-beating score by Asianae Johnson, Ahlana Smith and Hayes began the second half with buckets, cutting the lead to 12.
But Ole Miss guard Angel Baker answered with midrange jumpers each time, and the Bulldogs folded. After the three consecutive turnovers, Mississippi State never got within 13 points again. Ole Miss pushed the lead upwards of 20 in a low-stakes fourth quarter before MSU made a late but meaningless run.
“Really grateful that we were able to get a win tonight,” Rebels coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “Obviously, it’s special because it was against Mississippi State, but this one would have been special regardless.”
Baker led the Rebels with 17 points, while Collins added 15 and Marquesha Davis had 14. Carter led Mississippi State with 18, Smith scored 11, and Johnson had 10.
The sound defeat snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bulldogs, setting their conference record back to .500. Mississippi State will take on Georgia (14-8, 3-5 SEC) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Athens.
“We’ve got to let this one go and get ready for the next one,” Purcell said. “Women’s basketball in the SEC, this conference is so tough. Everybody’s good night in and night out, so we’ve got to be tough and stay together right now.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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