For a team that has struggled to take care of the basketball the way Mississippi State has this season, Tennessee, which entered the night forcing the second-most turnovers of any team in the country, was about the worst possible matchup.
The Bulldogs shot well enough to win Thursday night in Knoxville, but the No. 15 Volunteers turned 20 MSU turnovers into 30 points. Tennessee’s 3-point shooting prowess and offensive rebounding also helped the Volunteers defeat the Bulldogs, 86-73.
MSU (15-4, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) was held scoreless for the first three minutes, but then scored nine straight points to take a five-point lead that would be its largest of the game. Ruby Whitehorn, who scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the first half, gave Tennessee (15-2, 3-2) the lead for good early in the second quarter.
“For them, the X-factor was Ruby Whitehorn,” Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell said. “We did a great job getting under ball screens, (but) she’s long and lanky. I told (my team), ‘make her make tough 2s,’ and she did that tonight.”
Jerkaila Jordan helped MSU stay within one possession with back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half. But the Bulldogs turned the ball over three times in the final two minutes of the half, both leading to Volunteers 3-pointers. Jewel Spear and Samara Spencer were a combined 3-for-3 from deep in the last minute of the half as Tennessee quickly extended its lead from two points to nine.
MSU committed seven turnovers in the second quarter alone and continued to have problems breaking the Volunteers’ full-court press after halftime. Jordan and Denim DeShields each turned the ball over five times.
Jordan led the Bulldogs with 17 points, and Debreasha Powe tied a season high with 16, finishing 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Destiney McPhaul was also in double figures with 11 points and seven assists, and Madina Okot pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Tennessee, though, finished 12-for-26 from distance, led by Spear and Spencer. Talaysia Cooper had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards for the Volunteers, who grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in the game. They only managed nine second-chance points off those extra opportunities, but still took valuable time off the clock with MSU chasing the lead.
With Tennessee clashing the glass, the Bulldogs did manage to get out in transition when they were able to grab rebounds, scoring 21 fast-break points and outscoring the Volunteers by six in the paint. But thanks to those turnovers, Tennessee had 14 more field goal attempts than MSU.
The Bulldogs return to Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m., SEC Network) to battle Ole Miss. The Magnolia State rivals split their two matchups last season, with each team winning at home.
“The kids fought,” Purcell said. “At the end, we had to go all guards because we were trying to muck it up. We were trying to handle the press and put pressure on them in space, so you can’t really, in those last four minutes, fault the kids there because you’re just trying to win the game.”
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