STARKVILLE – The regular season came to a close for Mississippi State women’s basketball on Sunday with a 72-63 defeat to No. 6 LSU.
The Bulldogs finished the 2025-26 campaign 18-12, 5-11 in SEC play, with four straight losses to close their conference campaign. The team still has hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, but will likely need a win or two at the SEC Tournament to stay in contention for a spot.
When MSU head coach Sam Purcell arrived with players Kharyssa Richardson and Favour Nwaedozi for the post-game press conference, the attitude was far from disappointment. The trio shared encouragement and belief that the team still has what it takes to extend the season.
“I love it,” Purcell said when asked how he felt about his team’s tournament chances. “When you look at the bubble teams, nobody has signature wins like we do. When you do a blind resume and say, who’d you beat? We beat three Top-25 teams.”
Purcell recognized the importance of the team’s record and recent struggles in the context of his team’s bid for a place in the tournament. Still, he believes his team’s performances show more than their record in a resume comparison.
“I know you all have a responsibility to write records and current losing streaks, but I’ve got dogs,” Purcell continued. “We’re playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Texas A&M just went and beat the team up north. Everybody’s beating everybody in this conference. The committee is going to have a choice to make: Who had the best wins?”
Purcell pointed to near misses by the Bulldogs. The fightback against LSU on Sunday was a good showcase of the team’s ability to stick with some of the best in the country, as were the close calls against Texas Tech on the road and No. 5 Vanderbilt. The team also recorded important wins at home over No. 7 Kentucky and Georgia as well as a road victory at No. 17 Tennessee.
“Now we’re not going to be satisfied with it,” Purcell said of the team’s record. “We need to go and win the first round (of the SEC Tournament), but again, I’m going to fight for my team. If you watch how close we played this game, No. 5 Vanderbilt here at home, that came down to the wire. We’re battle-tested, and we deserve the opportunity, but we’ve got to go finish business.”
Redemption
MSU will open SEC Tournament play as the No. 13 seed in the conference standings. The current format features all 16 member schools in the tournament, with the opening round beginning on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs will face a familiar foe in Florida, the team that began MSU’s current losing streak two weeks ago at Humphrey Coliseum.
With nonconference and conference play behind them, the team enters the third phase of the season with uncertainty over where and how long they’ll be playing, but they believe wholeheartedly that they deserve to be there.
“We’re hungry for it,” forward Nwaedozi said. “This is the part of the season where it’s win or go home, and we’re not ready to go home. The only option here is win, and that’s what we’re going for.”
“It’s a quick turnaround, we’re not going to practice,” Purcell said. “I told the team we’ve got to go pack. We had an unbelievable Senior Night, spending two hours last night gathering and enjoying each other’s company. These young ladies will get something to eat, pack up, practice there. I talked to (Trayanna Crisp) in the hallway, she was like, ‘Coach, the whole team’s going to put the tape in and talk before you guys come in. I couldn’t ask for more and I’m excited to go to war with this group in the third season.”
The game between the Bulldogs and Gators is set for a 12:30 p.m. tipoff in Greenville, S.C., on Wednesday and will air on SEC Network.
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