STARKVILLE — Mississippi State simply could not get out of its own way in the first half Sunday.
By the time the Bulldogs started to play cleaner basketball, it was much too late. Despite forcing 13 second-half turnovers and committing just two, MSU fell victim to a hot-shooting afternoon from No. 23 Alabama and lost 80-60 to the Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs’ fifth defeat in their last seven games.
“In the first half, we didn’t score,” MSU head coach Sam Purcell said. “We missed a layup, came down again, missed a layup, and the next thing you know I have to burn a timeout because they go on an 8-0 run. We allowed non-scoring opportunities to affect us on the defensive end.”
Alabama leads the Southeastern Conference in 3-point percentage, and the Crimson Tide hit their first two outside shots Sunday and forced Purcell to use a timeout just a minute and a half into the game. But the early timeout did nothing to slow Alabama down — the visitors started 10-for-13 from the floor, while the Bulldogs started 2-for-13.
MSU (17-8, 4-7 SEC) also turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, and the Bulldogs used another timeout once the deficit reached 19-4 with three and a half minutes left in the period. Purcell said it was the first time he can remember spending multiple timeouts before the first quarter was over.
“Honestly, I should have used a third,” Purcell said. “They did a great job jumping on us 8-0, and the next thing you know, it’s the hustle plays, which were unacceptable. A kid goes diving out of bounds, throws it over our head, those are 50-50 balls that you have to win. We dribble it up, don’t have awareness, they steal it, next thing you know that’s where I’m burning another one because obviously we didn’t learn from the first timeout.”
Eniya Russell, coming off the bench for the third straight game, turned the ball over four times in just five minutes in the first quarter. That included a play where Sarah Ashlee Barker snuck up from behind Russell and stole the ball in MSU’s defensive half of the court, leading to free throws for the Crimson Tide. Early in the second quarter, Destiney McPhaul’s pass missed Jerkaila Jordan by several feet for an unforced error.
Alabama (20-5, 7-4) continued to shoot well and took a 20-point lead just over a minute into the second quarter. The visitors used a 12-0 run to go ahead by 28 in the final minute of the half as the Bulldogs went six and a half minutes without scoring. Barker finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
“She’s a matchup problem,” Purcell said. “They’re able to make you really look silly and stupid. Because we missed some scoring opportunities and we didn’t lock up, they capitalized, and that’s what good teams do.”
MSU played much better in the second half once the Crimson Tide had the game locked up, trimming the score as close as 13 points. But the Bulldogs were 4-for-18 from behind the arc to Alabama’s 9-for-17. Aaliyah Nye, who is third in the country in made 3-pointers per game, was just 2-for-7 from deep, but MSU struggled to close out on Karly Weathers and Zaay Green, who were a combined 5-for-6.
Debreasha Powe led the Bulldogs with 14 points, Madina Okot added 12 and McPhaul had 10. Jordan was just 1-for-10 from the floor, though she did have six steals to help MSU tie a season high as a team with 16. The Crimson Tide out-rebounded the Bulldogs 42-25 and had an 18-5 edge in fast-break points, with 11 of those points coming in the opening quarter.
MSU visits Vanderbilt on Thursday, facing a team led by one of the best freshmen in the country in Mikayla Blakes as well as one of the SEC’s best post players in Khamil Pierre.
“You have to get defensive stops in this league to win, and because we missed some layups and some open shots, it affected us on the defensive end,” Purcell said. “We have great basketball ahead of us to get an identity that’s a little bit more tough.”
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