STARKVILLE — Mississippi State was trading blows down the stretch with Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon, and the in-state rivals were all knotted up as the clock hit five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
But over those critical five minutes, the Bulldogs had as many turnovers — six — as field goal attempts. The Rebels forced 23 turnovers in all, including 21 over the final three quarters, and turned them into 26 points as they ended the game on a 10-2 run and handed MSU a 71-63 loss at Humphrey Coliseum.
“There was a point where we knew we had the game, and then we just didn’t get scores, especially late,” Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell said. “Their guards did an excellent job trying to deny everything, so it was one-on-one. We just got unraveled and uncharacteristic behavior from us. Those last five minutes, we just didn’t finish.”
Just like in its first two home games in Southeastern Conference play, MSU (15-5, 2-4 SEC) started hot, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Madina Okot pulled down five rebounds in the first five minutes of the game and Ole Miss (13-5, 4-2) started 2-for-11 from the floor before making six shots in a row to end the quarter down by just one.
Jerkaila Jordan scored seven straight points by herself in the second quarter to put the Bulldogs back on top by six, but from there the Rebels used an 11-0 run to surge in front. MSU was held to just nine points in the quarter, turned the ball over seven times and did not get to the free throw line once.
“My kids did a great job when the defense was set, but they scored 26 points off of our turnovers. That’s ballgame,” Purcell said. “When they get in the open court, they can run fast and make big-time plays.”
The Bulldogs made eight of 11 shots in the third quarter, including both of their 3-point attempts from Eniya Russell, but turnovers continued to be their Achilles heel. Madison Scott scored nine of her 30 points in the third for Ole Miss, which ended many of MSU’s possessions without a shot.
Freshman Sira Thienou took over for the Rebels in the fourth, grabbing six of her nine steals in the final period. Scott’s layup following an offensive foul on Russell gave Ole Miss the lead for good, and the visitors scored 12 points off turnovers in the fourth quarter alone.
“(Thienou) is a great player. She’s very versatile,” Russell said. “She can get to the basket, she can play on both ends of the court, so big ups to her. But as a team, we just lacked defensively in the fourth quarter. Just not being focused mentally. A bunch of turnovers. I wouldn’t say it was just (Thienou). A lot of them gave us problems, especially Madison Scott.”
MSU’s 23 turnovers were a season high, though the Bulldogs have committed at least 20 in six different games, including three times already in SEC play. Apart from Okot’s efforts in the first quarter, MSU received very little offense outside of Jordan’s 19 points and Russell’s 15.
The Rebels were just 2-for-13 from 3-point range, but kept getting easy baskets off the Bulldogs’ live-ball turnovers and outscored MSU 42-30 in the paint.
The upcoming week presents a pair of must-win opportunities for MSU against teams near the bottom of the SEC standings. The Bulldogs host Auburn on Thursday night before visiting last-place Missouri next Monday.
“We just have to have hard conversations. We have to talk about it,” Purcell said. “There’s a lot of heart in that locker room. This league is a beast. It’s tough. Every game you play is a challenge that we have to learn from, and that’s what I’m going to tell them. The mission doesn’t change. We have to come into practice, we have to own it, and most importantly we have to learn from what we’re doing wrong and put four quarters together.”
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