Mississippi State was still in the fight against No. 3 South Carolina midway through the second quarter. A 3-point play by Trayanna Crisp with just under four minutes to play cut the deficit to eight points, and the SEC Network Broadcast relayed a message between head coach Sam Purcell and senior guard Destiney McPhaul.
“We’re still in this.”
At the time, the Bulldogs were still alive and with a chance, but it was clear where the reigning SEC champions had the advantage; 6-foot-6 Madina Okot at center, 6’ 3” Joyce Edwards at forward and 6’ 2” Chloe Kitts and 6-foot Tessa Johnson at guard.
The physical and athletic advantage was noticeable even as the Bulldogs hung around early, but it was more evident as the Gamecocks pulled away for a big win, scoring 58 over the final 34 minutes of the contest.
“It’s a tale of two halves for me,” Purcell said. “First half, we competed. Second half, they went to their 6-6, 6-7 lineup, went to a 2-3 zone and clogged the paint, made you shoot from the outside.”
The Bulldogs (16-8, 3-7 SEC) managed just six points in the third quarter as the game got out of hand, and it was evident that nothing was working offensively after the Gamecocks effectively shut down the paint. Their size and athleticism were too much, and it bought time for the hosts to switch on offensively.
They did just that, going into halftime with an 8-0 run, and coming out of halftime with a 17-2 run.
“Obviously, we couldn’t get anybody to be that lift. And it’s not like we didn’t play anybody, we went through the entire team,” Purcell added. “We went 3-24 from 3-point, long shots led to long rebounds, which leads to them being the second-best transition offense team in the country. We couldn’t stay strong enough because we couldn’t get a basket to put pressure on them.”
Teams that are as good year-in and year-out as South Carolina stay good because of their ability to recruit the best in the country and find players like Okot through the transfer portal. The former Bulldog was vital to MSU’s efforts last season before transferring to their SEC rivals, and the Bulldogs’ presence in the paint has not been the same without her. Even with the positive play of Favour Nwaedozi and Madison Francis down low, the team has struggled to match opponents in size.
“This is a Final Four, national championship team,” Purcell said of SC. “The length, athleticism when they sub, even at the end… they’ve still got five All-Americans to put in. The third quarter was the dagger. I thought our kids were great at half, had a great dialogue, but to come out so flat. We didn’t make the plays to win. That’s the ballgame, simple as that. You’ve got to burn the tape, let it go, and stay poised going back home.”
MSU has a couple of days off to reset before preparing for the final stretch of conference games, beginning with Georgia, Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum.
“Continued toughness, that’s what this league is. We’ve got to continue to fight, to get better in all areas—defensive stands when they made that run, that was disappointing,” Purcell said, looking ahead. “The third quarter, when they got some one-on-one blow bys that we’ve tried harder to chest up, got us in trouble with Missouri, and came to life again today. Then, being fluid on offense with drive and kicks, Georgia is probably going to play a zone. I would, especially after watching this tape.”
Apart from the defensive miscues and the effort in the second half, the coach had a more positive message for his team, akin to earlier in SEC play. It’s not the time to dwell too much on a bad loss, especially with further challenging matchups to close out the season including dates against LSU and Texas. The most the team can do now is learn and grow.
“You can’t lose faith, can’t lose hope. You’ve got to put in the work, the sweat, stay in shape,” Purcell said. “When you go back home and play Georgia, we need our fans. I thought the fans today were electric, it magnified the situation when shots weren’t going in. At that point they’re playing loose, now South Carolina has no pressure because the game is at 20, 30, they’re letting it fly and having fun. I think that’s why it ballooned how it did in the second half.”
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