STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women’s basketball lost to Florida for the third year in a row on Thursday, falling 71-56 against the Gators in its return home from a road win at Arkansas three days ago.
The Bulldogs (18-9, 5-8 SEC) had a chance to make it three conference victories in a row after wins over Georgia and Arkansas in the last week. From the start, their play was plagued by turnovers. They gave up possession 17 times after a 22-turnover game against the Razorbacks, and it set the tone for a long game. They let their opponent start to slip away late in the first quarter and couldn’t keep pace.
The Gators owned the first half, capitalizing on 13 MSU turnovers with 16 points and scoring 28 in the paint as the Bulldogs got into foul trouble and couldn’t handle the size matchup.
Florida’s advantage was boosted by the play of Liv McGill, who scored 17 on 7-12 shooting in the first half while also dishing out five assists. She led the Gators into halftime with a 43-30 advantage and kept the personal momentum rolling with a game-high scoring performance of 30 points.
The game slowed down in the second half, with the Bulldogs winning the third quarter 13-11 but failing to close the gap down to fewer than nine points.
Madison Francis had a strong game individually for the Bulldogs and finished as the only MSU player in double digits with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double night. She also had 3 blocks and 3 steals. No other MSU player finished with more than eight points.
The Bulldogs will travel to face No. 4 Texas and former head coach Vic Schaefer on Sunday at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will air on SEC Network.
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