Mississippi State would have had every excuse available had the Bulldogs not won Sunday’s game.
Tired legs. A well-rested opponent. An arena where that opponent, Texas A&M, had won 11 of 12 games, with the Aggies’ only home loss coming to defending national champion LSU.
But MSU, which stared down a nine-point deficit less than four minutes after the opening tip, went right to work. The Bulldogs used an 18-2 run to end the first half and scored 10 straight points in the middle of the fourth quarter to pick up a 74-63 win, their fourth consecutive victory and third in the last seven days.
Forward Erynn Barnum, a graduate transfer from Arkansas, led MSU (19-5, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) with a season-high 22 points, 14 of which came in that fourth quarter, on 9-for-11 shooting. Barnum’s big day was more than enough to overcome a lackluster performance from her frontcourt partner, Jessika Carter, who was just 2-for-10 from the floor and finished with eight points.
“It’s not going to be my night every night,” Barnum said on the SEC Network broadcast after the game. “(Head coach Sam Purcell) says (there’s) enough for all of us to eat. Every night it could be (Jerkaila Jordan), (Lauren Park-Lane), (Carter), me. Just playing together and pouring into each other’s cup is what we’ve been focusing on all season.”
After Barnum’s layup on the game’s opening possession, Texas A&M (15-6, 3-5) scored 11 straight points to surge into the lead before the Bulldogs settled down. They held the Aggies to six points in the second quarter, while Jordan and Darrione Rogers heated up on the offensive end as MSU carried an eight-point lead into the break.
Rogers had 18 points, Jordan finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year, and Park-Lane added 10 points, six assists and three steals.
But as has been the case many times so far in SEC play, the Bulldogs struggled in the third quarter. Seven straight points for the Aggies trimmed the MSU lead to one within the first minute and a half of the period, and the hosts twice tied the game before Rogers put the Bulldogs in front for good with a transition 3-pointer.
Then it became Barnum’s show. Barnum scored eight points, all in the paint, in the first four minutes of the fourth, and MSU then put the game away at the free throw line, going 14-for-18 at the stripe in the final period. The Bulldogs attempted twice as many free throws in the fourth quarter alone as Texas A&M did the entire game.
MSU returns to Humphrey Coliseum for back-to-back home games in the coming week, with Georgia visiting Starkville on Thursday night and Florida coming in next Sunday afternoon.
“I knew I was going to have to change my role on this team,” Barnum said. “Coming to play with (Carter) and (Jordan), I wanted to surround myself with other players who are just as talented as me, all-SEC players. I wanted to come win, and if we keep winning like this, we’re going to go far. I’m excited.”
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