Bulldogs edge Wildcats for fourth win in league
ing called regularly on both teams, it was a defensive stop that would have to happen at some point. It appeared the Bulldogs were going to be living on the line in the final seconds, but a turnover gave the Wildcats new life with 20 seconds left.
Ahlana Smith turned the ball over on an inbounds play and Kentucky's Robyn Benton scored to tied the game at 76. On the other end, Hayes nailed 1-of-2 free throws to get the lead. With 3 seconds left, Benton went for the win but great defense from Smith led to a miss and an MSU win.
It's become a theme that MSU would have some good and bad quarters and it certainly started rough for the Bulldogs.
State dug itself in a hole in the first half when Kentucky jumped out to an 18-8 lead after one quarter. The Bulldogs scored 20 in the second quarter and closed the lead a bit at 33-28, but 15 turnovers at the half made for much room to improve in the second two quarters.
MSU came out and did just that. Outscoring Kentucky 22-15 in the third, the Bulldogs were holding the lead for the first time since 2-0 when it had a 50-48 advantage. Anastasia Hayes was a huge spark in the third with 10 points making her return to the lineup after missing last game against Auburn. be- * “We just needed to pick it
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State didn't bring it's “A game” again on Sunday in a matchup with Kentucky, but the Bulldogs brought the guts.
After falling behind by 10 points in the first half and facing some adversity along the way, State found a way. A huge second half from Anastasia Hayes and Jessika Carter led the way and a final stop on the last possession gave the Bulldogs a 77-76 win over the Wildcats.
“Wow, it feels good to play in the Hump,” MSU coach Sam Purcell of the win. “I knew the game would be ugly. I knew that we were going to get (Kentucky's) best punch. If you can take the cards that are dealt to you and handle it together as a team, special things can happen, and we can have a special season. I love this team and I'm so excited about where we're going.”
A dominant day rebounding and the team's best day of the year at the free-throw line was the most critical of the game's happenings.
State won the rebounding edge for the third-straight game with a 39-22 win there. MSU was also an incredible 17-of-20 from the free-throw line. Kentucky was even more efficient hitting 21-of-24 as the game played out on the line for the most part.
While fouls were up and bring some more energy,” Carter said. “Stay out there, stay confident and keep doing what we've been doing.”
State struggled to get stops against the Cats in the fourth until late as Kentucky scored 28 points in the final frame, but MSU got better and better on offense as the game went on. After scoring just eight points in the first frame, the Bulldogs had 20 in the second, 22 in the third and 27 in the fourth to get the gutsy win.
Carter scored 21 points in the game for MSU after scoring just four points in the first half and added eight rebounds and four assists. It was the eighth-straight game that Carter has had double digits scoring and it's the fifth time during that stretch that she has had 20 or more points.
Hayes was looking a lot like the type of player she was a year ago. After missing last game for personal reasons, Hayes had 17 points on 4-of6 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
The win moved the Bulldogs to 15-5 for the year and 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play as they have now won three-straight games after losing three in a row to Ole Miss, Tennessee and South Carolina. State has a chance to make it fourstraight as the Bulldogs go on the road on Thursday night to take on Ole Miss in Oxford at 8 p.m.