The Mississippi State women’s basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday, a 73-66 defeat to Troy.

The Bulldogs struggled shooting throughout the game, and though they managed to get themselves back into the contest and take the lead, a strong finish from the Trojans settled the issue.

The strength of the Trojans in the paint and the physical battle closed a lot of lanes for the Bulldogs, and the lack of penetration and lost battles on the boards were too much for the hosts to handle. The Trojans outrebounded the Bulldogs 60-39.

“They did a really good job,” MSU coach Doug Novak said of the Trojans. “Those are hard-nosed kids that get on the glass, and very athletic.

“It’s always a game about possessions, and getting beat that bad on the glass we can’t force enough turnovers to compete with that in terms of the possession game.”

The Trojans were ready for this one from the start, and the Bulldogs spent much of the first half trying to keep pace. The visitors were particularly strong in the paint, building a 33-16 rebounding edge and leading 33-16 in the first half before taking a 37-30 lead at the break. They went on several strong runs throughout the game, and were happy to let the Bulldogs continue to shoot from long range. 

The second half started to go the Bulldogs’ way for stretches, but just as was the case to end the first half, the final 4-5 minutes of the game were dominated by the Trojans. The visitors held a 25-14 edge in fourth-quarter scoring to close out a 73-66 win. 

The Bulldogs’ offense was heavily reliant on Rickea Jackson and JerKaila Jordan, who finished with 25 and 18 points, respectively. The team’s biggest problem was lack of creativity and penetration. They struggled in the paint and instead settled for 3-point shots, finishing 7 of 35 in that area. 

“I feel like a lot of (3-point attempts) were open looks that we didn’t hit,” Jackson said. She noted the costly inefficiency across the board on offense, and when asked about it she put it bluntly on the team. “Us getting in our own way,” Jackson said, “I feel like no team can really stop us, but we can get in our own way.” 

The Bulldogs have two more games left in the Mississippi State Classic, today against Jackson State and Monday against South Carolina State. The SEC opener is scheduled for Dec. 30 against Florida at home.