Alabama senior Karly Weathers drove the final dagger into Mississippi State with 1:59 left in the game on Sunday. Her open three-pointer was the result of a patient play by the Crimson Tide in which the ball exchanged hands throughout the five on the floor, holding possession and moving across the court until an opening arrived for the senior to hit her third shot from distance in the quarter.
But MSU didn’t give up. Destiny McPhaul, Trayanna Crisp and Saniyah King kept the scoring going, but the fouling tactic to slow the game down and get the ball back only delayed the inevitable as Alabama won, 85-78.
“You’ve got to tip your hat, the 29 in the fourth quarter was a dagger,” MSU head coach Sam Purcell said postgame. “We had some possessions that gave them hope, especially when you have the lead, and then they had possessions where they didn’t have a good shot but were pivoting to continue finding an open teammate. That was the ballgame there in those last five minutes.”
It was a hard loss to swallow for the Bulldogs (15-6, 2-5 SEC), who had turned a corner a week ago with a home upset win over No. 7 Kentucky, the team’s first ranked win of the season.
MSU is 1-4 in true road games this season, with its only win coming against La Salle in Philadelphia. All four losses have been against Top 25 opponents, including a 19-1 Texas Tech team in nonconference play.
“I’m proud because I challenged them about being on the road,” Purcell said. “Can we have a different identity? For us to start the game down 8-0. We got punched in the face. In the last games we played, we were done. In this game, we came back, got the lead, give it up, come back and get the lead again. The last five minutes (Alabama) players stepped up and made crucial buckets.”
A back-and-forth contest featured several bright performances from the Bulldogs. Freshmen Madison Francis, 16 points, and Jaylah Lampley, 14, played a big role in keeping MSU in the contest and even helped establish a lead going into the fourth quarter. Favour Nwaedozi posted a team-high 19 points in one of her most versatile offensive performances and Crisp added another double-digit scoring performance with 11.
Where the Bulldogs were lacking most was on defense and dealing with a Crimson Tide group that could score from anywhere. Jessica Timmons scored 28 for the hosts on 7-15 shooting, going a perfect 11-11 at the free throw line.
Timmons was also one of four Tide players to hit multiple three pointers as the team tallied 13 hits from distance. Purcell looked to the difference in shooting beyond the arc, where Bama hit on 13-21 while the Bulldogs converted just 4-16.
“In a Top-25 matchup, you’ve got to make those shots,” he said. “We’ve had them, but again it’s the fourth quarter, 29 points, you can’t do that against a Top-25 team. We’ll watch the film, we’ll grow, we’ll learn. We’ll stay together and again, we’re right there.”
Purcell is taking the defeats as a learning opportunity, but as he said, the time to apply those lessons learned into practice is here.
“I love my team, and I know it sucks right now,” he said. “Obviously, we couldn’t find a win with a chance to get back-to-back Top-25 wins. Hurt for those kids in the locker room. There was never doubt, we have no doubt, but we’ve got to capitalize on the little things. You gotta make outside shots.”
The Bulldogs will tipoff against the Vols in Knoxville at 5:30 p.m. Thursday The game will be available via streaming on SEC Network+.
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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
