Mississippi State’s struggles in conference play continued in a rivalry loss in Oxford, losing 93-68 to Ole Miss on Sunday.
It was the third consecutive defeat for the Bulldogs (14-4, 1-3 SEC) in conference play, with all three opponents scoring at least 90 points. The loss was also the fourth straight defeat to rivals Ole Miss, and head coach Sam Purcell is now 1-6 against the Rebels, who moved up to No. 16 in this week’s AP Poll.
The 25-point loss was the Bulldogs’ largest margin of defeat in the rivalry series since 1995.
Purcell has been open about his team’s struggles early in games, and once again a poor first half helped create a big disparity between the teams. Ole Miss pulled away in the second quarter to establish a 15-point advantage, and led for all but 14 seconds of the contest.
“I thought we played well enough (versus Tennessee) to have a chance, but on the road, we have to have a different toughness about us,” Purcell said after the game. “The crowd and energy with such a young team, you have to be able to come out of the gates playing well, and when things get tough, we have to quiet the noise. We just aren’t doing that right now.”
Madison Frances and Chandler Prater finished as joint top scorers for the Bulldogs with 15 apiece, with the latter shooting an efficient 6-8 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc in her return to action.
The Bulldogs struggled as a unit at the free throw line, hitting just 13-26, but the real difference was evident in the possession numbers. MSU players committed 16 turnovers, handing their rivals 19 points off of those giveaways, and were outscored 48-30 in the paint.
Ole Miss were led by Cotie McMahon and Sira Thienou, who finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively, but it was a prolific night for the entire group. As a collective, they hit on 56.3% of shots and kept the ball moving with 21 assists.
Purcell is hopeful that his group can continue to learn from the difficult experiences, but above all he wants them to respond in kind on the floor.
“It’s bend but don’t break. It is the SEC,” he said to the media following the game. “You’re playing top teams night in and night out, and you have to have a ‘1-0’ mentality. You want to make sure you learn from this game, but at some point, you have to stop learning and apply. That’s what I am waiting on this team to do.”
MSU will return to action against No. 5 Vanderbilt at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday. The Bulldogs and Commodores will tip off at 5:30 p.m., and the game will air on SEC Network.
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