AUBURN, Ala. — Mississippi State’s downward spiral continued Thursday night, and now the Bulldogs have just one more opportunity to right the ship before postseason play.
On the heels of a five-game winning streak, MSU has now lost five in a row to close the month of February, with the latest defeat — a 77-60 setback against Auburn at Neville Arena — marking the Bulldogs’ first loss to the Tigers in 10 years.
MSU head coach Sam Purcell talked after Sunday’s loss at Alabama about the Bulldogs (20-10, 7-8 Southeastern Conference) allowing star players to put up big numbers against them in recent weeks, but Auburn’s leading scorer, Honesty Scott-Grayson, topped them all with a career-high 32 points on her Senior Night. Scott-Grayson hurt MSU from inside and out, finishing 12-for-23 shooting overall and 4-for-10 from 3-point range.
“Honesty is playing as good as anybody in the SEC,” Purcell said. “We talked at halftime about trying to limit her touches, face-guarding her, trapping her in ball screens. She did a great job just staying active, finding a way. When she got loose in transition, she attacked us and got to the line, and she was able to separate off ball screens, which just made for a long night for us.”
The same issues that have hurt the Bulldogs during their skid reared their ugly heads again against the Tigers (18-10, 7-8). Auburn collected 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and scored 19 second-chance points in the game.
The Tigers came in forcing an SEC-leading 21 turnovers per game, so MSU’s 17 turnovers don’t seem as problematic in context, but Auburn capitalized on those mistakes, with a 25-7 edge in points off turnovers. The hosts’ eight made 3-pointers were also their most in a conference game this season.
As desperate as the Bulldogs were for a win, they nonetheless came out sluggish and never led all night as the Tigers stretched their lead to double digits in the first quarter. MSU showed signs of life in the second with a 7-0 run, but Auburn quickly responded with six straight points to take a 12-point lead before Darrione Rogers banked in a 3-pointer as the halftime buzzer sounded.
“We wanted to force outside shots. They haven’t necessarily been shooting as well outside this year,” Purcell said. “For us not to come up with the rebounds, it’s backbreaking. For whatever reason right now, we’re not winning first quarters.”
Debreasha Powe and Rogers hit from distance in quick succession early in the third quarter, and a Jessika Carter transition layup on the Bulldogs’ next trip down the floor narrowed MSU’s deficit to five points. They would get no closer, thanks to their worst shooting performance of the year. MSU made just five of its last 22 field goal attempts and finished with a season-worst 32.2 field goal percentage.
Apart from Rogers, who was 3-for-6 from deep, the Bulldogs were just 1-for-10 on 3-pointers, finishing with their worst showing in that regard since Jan. 11 at Arkansas. Carter led MSU with 16 points, but picked up her fourth foul with nearly four minutes to go in the third quarter. Jordan was also in double figures with 12 points, but it was an inefficient night for the senior, who was 4-for-17 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs return to Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday to conclude the regular season with a home game against last-place Missouri.
“We were aggressive, just couldn’t make enough winning plays to finish shots,” Purcell said. “You can’t let missed shots affect you on the defensive end. That segment there where we had four straight turnovers… we didn’t need to go for home runs. You saw a team there at the end of the fourth quarter that was dying to win, dying to make big plays, and we got a little sloppy instead of just making the simple plays.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
