At Humphrey Coliseum Sunday afternoon, the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team slid by the University of Kentucky Wildcats 77-76 to extend their winning streak.
MSU had a rough start out of the gate against the Wildcats. The Bulldogs were dragging their feet in the first quarter and trailed the Wildcats 18-8. MSU head coach Sam Purcell gave credit to Kentucky for the battle the Cats gave to the Dawgs.
“Again, you have to give a lot of credit to Kentucky. They’re tough,” Purcell said postgame. “I know they’re probably heartbroken. I know they had three games: they had Missouri, they had us and I can’t think of the other one off the top of my head. They have been in games all the way to the wire.”
Improvements began to appear in the second quarter when the Bulldogs put up 20 points. The Bulldog faithful started making noise in the second quarter as MSU started to mount a comeback. MSU still had work to do, however, as the Kentucky Wildcats led 33-28 heading into halftime at the Hump.
After falling slightly behind in the first, MSU came out ready to play in the second half. The Bulldogs improved their shooting to 47% and put up 49 points within the half.
The energy in the Hump was undeniable. Not only was the team juiced up, but the MSU fanbase was on the same page. Coach Purcell acknowledged the encouraging newfound momentum.
“We couldn’t be denied. We were struggling to score, and then we went to the line and made two clutch free throws, and then here comes The Hump,” Purcell said. “That’s why I love this place, and you just felt that wave. They hit a tough one, but it was the support of the fans that was like, ‘Man, we can get this.'”
The two teams played a game of tug-of-war with the score during the last quarter, but it was obvious that the Bulldogs had one thing on their mind: winning.
Neither team let off the throttle, with the point gap at only two points. The Bulldogs and Wildcats scored back and forth, tying five total times during the fourth quarter.
MSU and Kentucky were tied up 76-76 with very little time left. At this point, it was anyone’s game. With the pressure turned all the way up, MSU’s Anastasia Hayes drilled a free throw with three seconds left on the clock to win the game.
Hayes recalled her thought process just before her winning free throw.
“Just remaining positive, I just know you can’t miss two in a row. That’s the mindset that I had, and I had been making free throws the whole game. The first free throw that I missed wasn’t a bad miss, (the ball) rimmed in and out,” Hayes said. “I remained positive, and I told myself I was going to make it.”
The Bulldogs secured another victory via a final score of 77-76. MSU improved to a 15-5 overall record and 4-3 in the SEC.
Next, Mississippi State will be traveling to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on the rival University of Mississippi Thursday at 8 p.m.