STARKVILLE — Some coaches aim for a short-term memory approach after a tough loss, but that’s not the case at Mississippi State this week.
The women’s basketball team suffered a humbling defeat to No. 8 Oklahoma on Sunday, falling 95-47 in Norman in by far the team’s worst performance of the season. It ended a 10-game winning streak for the Bulldogs, who are now 14-2 on the season and 1-1 in SEC play.
And it doesn’t get any easier, with No. 20 Tennessee in Starkville tonight.
“It sucked. I hope they had a bad taste in their mouth on the bus ride, the plane ride home,” MSU head coach Sam Purcell said of the Oklahoma loss. “I hope they didn’t sleep well, because that’s what competitors do. We’re competitors, I’ve been clear about this. I’ve got a great group of young women that I love, and we’re trying to take this program to another level. That’s what this is, it’s the SEC. This week, it’s two teams that played in the Sweet Sixteen, who just played a potential Final Four team. You want this. It’s an opportunity to learn from it and bounce back and get to playing your best basketball come March.”
In order to turn a page, the Bulldogs have to learn from their mistakes. They didn’t have an outlandish turnover rate in Norman, 14 turnovers to OU’s 13, but they did fail to capitalize on offensive possessions. The team shot just 20% from the floor and hit only one of 25 attempts from beyond the arc. Top scorers Madison Francis and Favour Nwaedozi combined for just seven points on 2-20 shooting.
“We knew it was going to be a track meet,” Purcell said. “They can score points on a night that you have your worst shooting night of the year, knowing how quick they get out and run, it makes for a bad formula. That’s exactly what it was.”
The performance is an outlier at the moment, but the team can’t afford to lose focus against their next opponent, one of the better defensive squads in the country.
The Vols (10-3, 2-0 SEC) rank 23rd in Division I with 22.31 turnovers forced per game, and 21st with 12.8 steals per game.
Offensively, like the Bulldogs, the Vols average just over 80 points per game. They’re led by guard Talaysia Cooper, who averages 14.9 ppg, and Janiah Barker, 14.4 ppg, but above all, they’re a team with a clear identity and defensive discipline.
“You look at their roster top to bottom, several McDonald’s All-Americans, kids who are well coached in a style of play where they’re not going to adapt,” Purcell said of the Vols. “They’re going to press. They don’t care if they’re up by 50, they’re gonna press. They don’t care if they’re down by 50, they’re gonna press. They’re going to muck it up, they hockey sub, they’ve been battle tested and challenged. They have a rich history of success in that program and high standards, so we’re expecting their best punch.”
Purcell called the game with Tennessee a “marquee matchup” at home, urging fans to show up to support the team in their biggest home test so far this season. The team produced a gritty win at home over Auburn to open SEC play last week, but now has to grapple with the first of three consecutive home games against Top-25 opponents.
“Scout team has got to show up, because film does a little bit, but we need to have one heck of a practice,” Purcell said. “That’s where my energy and focus are today. Practice needs to be harder than the game, and if we can create that environment, then we’ll have a fighter’s chance on Thursday.”
The Bulldogs and Vols will tip off at Humphrey Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. tonight. The game will be available via stream on SEC Network+ on the ESPN app.
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