The Mississippi State University women’s basketball team picked up a crucial 91-90 win in a double-overtime battle against the University of Tennessee on Monday night.
Junior guard JerKaila Jordan led the Bulldogs with a season-high 24 points, and Asianae Johnson added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the victory. Veteran Anastasia Hayes led the team with eight rebounds and four steals while knocking down crucial buckets late in the game to finish the evening with 14 points of her own.
Former Mississippi State standout Rickea Jackson posted a double-double for the Lady Vols with 28 points and 11 boards. Jillian Hollingshead also recorded an impressive night on the court with 18 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
The teams traded blows throughout the game, and despite being a bit smaller than their opponents, the Bulldogs were scrappy. Sophomore Denae Carter returned to action in the second quarter after missing a few weeks with an injury, floating a momentum-building layup into the net less than a minute after entering the game. Hayes, Jordan and Ahlana Smith each netted crucial three-pointers in the second quarter, and the two teams went into the locker room tied at 31 points apiece.
The second half was full of back-and-forth momentum swings that kept the rowdy crowd at Humphrey Coliseum engaged. MSU built up a five-point lead midway through the third quarter, thanks in part to a pair of free throws from both Hayes and Jordan.
The Lady Vols were not going to allow the lead to slip away easily, however, as Hollingshead and Sara Puckett powered through for five combined points in less than one minute to knot the game up for Tennessee and take the momentum. Nevertheless, a quick jump shot from MSU’s Kourtney Weber in the final minute of the frame gave the home team a slight 51-49 heading into the final quarter of regulation.
Tennessee scored its final points of regulation on six free throws to stay in the contest and even had the opportunity to sink a game-winner in the final seconds. Jordan came up with a momentous steal under the goal to send the game into overtime with the two programs knotted at 68 points apiece.
MSU could have fell apart right there, but something was holding the team together in the wake of adversity. As Hayes explained, her teammates were locked in and leaning on each other.
“My teammates had confidence, everybody had confidence,” Hayes said in the team’s postgame press conference. “We were all in it together, we were one, we never put our heads down, we told each other we fought too hard to lose the game.”
MSU kept finding ways to keep the momentum on their side, even when battling through contact and watching as Tennessee scored eight of its 10 overtime points from the charity stripe. When the first overtime ended and the score was still tied at 78, the Bulldogs pushed down harder on the gas.
Tennessee’s Jordan Walker sank a three-pointer to start the second overtime off with a bang for the Lady Vols, but MSU answered with a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 87-81 with 1:39 remaining. As hard as the visiting team tried to claw its way back, the Bulldogs had an answer every time.
Head coach Sam Purcell has led his team through a tough SEC slate to start the year, but right now, the Bulldogs are one resume-building win closer to making a case for themselves as the NCAA Tournament draws nearer. For Purcell, the win solidifies something that he’s known about his team since he stepped foot onto campus.
“I believe in this team, I’ve said it from day one,” Purcell said.
MSU women’s hoops now hold a record of 16-7 (5-5 in SEC play) ahead of their next matchup at the University of Florida Thursday night. That game will be broadcasted live on the SEC Network with a 6 p.m. tip-off.
