STARKVILLE — Sunday was a day Mississippi State women’s basketball would like to forget.
Playing an evenly matched Georgia team on the road, the Bulldogs looked to erase the mistakes of Thursday’s loss at Ole Miss, but the struggles continued for MSU.
Georgia wasted no time, delivering a sucker punch out of the gates with a 21-5 first quarter, cruising to a 28-point victory.
The loss put the Bulldogs back under .500 in SEC play, but a much-needed respite has arrived before the second half of their conference schedule.
Monday marks a weeklong break from games for Mississippi State as the Bulldogs look to rebound and regroup for the final seven games of the regular season, beginning Feb. 6 against Tennessee.
“It’s a great week to have an off week for us because it’s back to the basics,” head coach Sam Purcell said. “These last two games have been a tough pill to swallow, but I absolutely love my team and my team doesn’t feel good about their performance at all. That’s where we just have to get back to the simple things.
“Offensively and defensively, we have to stick together. You bend, but you don’t break.”
That mentality has seemingly been lost from MSU (15-7, 4-5 SEC) over the past two games as emotions have started to get the best of the Bulldogs.
When shots don’t fall, it’s easy for players to lose focus and take themselves out of the game. Mississippi State experienced that in a big way on Sunday, shooting 26.7 percent from the field and 2 of 15 from beyond the arc, finishing with its lowest point total of the season.
The Bulldogs were outscored by 10 or more points in the first and third quarters as Georgia just overpowered a team that didn’t have any answers on the floor.
This week’s plan for practice is to address those problems head on and find solutions before playing seven games in three weeks.
“We’re going to be intense,” Purcell said. “You can’t run from some of the things that have happened the last two games. We gotta get strong. We have to get our mojo back, but also have to be smart because of next week’s schedule.”
The respite is much needed this week, but next week, the Bulldogs are immediately getting thrown back into the fire, playing three games against Tennessee, Florida and Texas A&M. MSU will travel to Gainesville on Thursday and host the Aggies on Sunday.
A team that was among the highest-scoring offenses earlier in the season is now nearly outside of the top 75 in the country and seventh in the SEC.
Additionally, previous points of emphasis in rebounding and turnovers have proven costly the past week, with Ole Miss and Georgia both outrebounding the Bulldogs and MSU recording 38 turnovers in that span.
“When I look at the film, some of it is just basic things that we are not doing well,” Purcell said. “… Our goal is to outrebound our opponents by 10, and then on the offensive end, we pass the ball and we’re 10 turnovers or less per game. Honestly, those areas that I’ve brought up haven’t happened.”
Ole Miss and Georgia combined to score 36 points off turnovers and 18 second-chance points, two statistics that are unsustainable if Mississippi State wants to make a tournament run in March.
The current losing skid has exposed existing weaknesses for the Bulldogs, but they couldn’t ask for a much better time to have an off week to create positive momentum for the remainder of the season.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.