Bulldogs falter late in game, lose at home to rival Rebels
STARKVILLE – It was a good start for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their New Year's Day matchup against rival Ole Miss.
The Rebels made sure the end of the game was not a pleasant one for their rival at Humphrey Coliseum.
MSU could only manage six points in the fourth quarter, lost control of the outing and fell to Ole Miss 61-50.
The loss was the first one at home this season for the Bulldogs and they fell to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference.
"All the credit to Ole Miss,” MSU head coach Sam Purcell said, who coached his first game of the in-state rivalry. “It was going to come down to the little things of not turning the ball over because 50% of our offense comes from turnovers and rebounds. We talked about it at halftime that we did an unbelievable job on the board, and we talked about being willing to come out in the second half and win this game 52-50. It's going to be ugly. You could feel it. Their length (and) the way they get after it alters our shots, so it was going to come down to four quarters of who the tougher team was.”
JerKaila Jordan opened the game by making a 3-point field goal and jump-started a 7-0 run for the Bulldogs. The Rebels closed the gap to 15-11 by the end of the first quarter.
That was the most positive point of the game for MSU as it was outscored 50-35 from that point. The Bulldogs held a 29-26 edge at halftime, but the game began slipping away from the home team in the second half.
A 3-pointer by Angela Baker of Ole Miss tied the game at 37-37 with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter and the Rebels held a 47-44 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Ole Miss gained control in the fourth quarter and ended up winning by 11 points.
“We took some plays off and got complacent honestly,” MSU guard Ahlana Smith said. “That was the story of the game.”
Jessika Carter played well for the Bulldogs once again. She had her 13th double-digit scoring game of the season with 15 against the Rebels, but MSU struggled for the most part on offense. It only shot 35% from the floor, 23% from behind the arc and 50% from the freethrow line.
The Rebels emphasize defense and it came up big in winning their first game in Starkville since 2007.