GREENVILLE, S.C. — Mississippi State women’s basketball picked up its first win at the Southeastern Conference tournament since 2020 on Wednesday, taking down Missouri 75-55 with a remarkable second-half turnaround. Head coach Sam Purcell saw his team lose in upset fashion in each of his first two seasons and the Tigers looked primed to make it three early exits in a row.
The Tigers hit five shots from beyond the arc in the first half and were 8-8 from the free-throw line to establish a 39-32 lead at the break. The Bulldogs turned the ball over nine times in the first half and shot just 39.4% from the field. They had trouble finding buckets outside of JerKaila Jordan, who had 14 of the team’s 32 first-half points.
Purcell likes to say, “Talk to me nice,” when he suspects someone is underestimating his team, but he recognized the need for urgency in the second half.
“Oh, I lit a fire,” Purcell said on the post-game SEC Network broadcast. “There wasn’t talking nice at half time.”
The fire did the job.
The Tigers extended their lead at the start of the second half, but the Bulldogs responded with a 24-1 run. They held Mizzou scoreless for more than seven minutes and led 56-47 going into the fourth.
Destiney McPhaul hit a buzzer-beater three-point shot to end the third quarter, and the Bulldog bench celebrated as though they’d already won.
The run extended to 31 straight points before Mizzou answered, but by then, the Bulldogs had a 21-point lead. McPhaul kept her hot streak going as well and finished the game with 19 points, 16 in the second half, but she left the court in some pain after landing awkwardly on her ankle in the final minute.
It’ll be a difficult loss if McPhaul can’t go on Thursday, but her points were the result of a team-wide turnaround. Jordan kept up her offensive presence, Eniya Russell found a shot, and most importantly, the whole team defended with an intensity they were lacking in the first half.
Center Madina Okot, who had 12 points herself, played vital defense with two early fouls and grabbed eight boards.
“She has a nose for the ball, and this is a young lady who hasn’t been playing basketball very long who is blowing up in front of our eyes,” Purcell said. “Her presence, ability to play at a high speed for the entire quarter. Most kids can’t stay out there the whole time, but she can. Kudos to her and the rest of the team for having the attitude not to lose tonight.”
The Bulldogs take on Ole Miss in the second round at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
The in-state rival has been on a steady upward trajectory under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, and in January, they got the better of the Bulldogs in Starkville.
“I have a ton of respect for Yo, and that’s a team if they can get another win they’re gonna host as a top 16 seed,” Purcell said. “So outside of the SEC, they’re playing for something, but we are too. I told my team this week it’s a revenge tour. Missouri got us without Destiney, now Ole Miss got us. If we can keep that energy and stay together, put four quarters together, let’s see what we can do this week.”
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