Momentum is a word that defines the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament; who gets it, who holds it, and who loses it. The Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs entered the tournament on Friday with a chance to reverse the team’s recent woes and go into the finals against Tennessee with the momentum it needed to bring home a title.
It almost worked.
MSU needed to start off with a convincing win against Georgia, which had dispatched the Auburn Lady Tigers in the first round on Thursday. That is just what they got, although it did not come easily. The Lady Bulldogs trailed 26-23 at halftime, shooting only 25 percent from the field and 16 percent outside the arc.
But Mississippi State came out firing in the second half, more than doubling their shooting percentage, and hitting a remarkable 75 percent of their 3’s. All five starters scored in double digits, led by senior guard Alexis Rack who had 14 points.
By the time it was over, the Lady Bulldogs had a 67-52 victory and the wave of momentum they were seeking.
Mississippi State rode that wave into their matchup on Saturday, streaking out to a 35-24 halftime lead against Kentucky.
Unlike the previous night, Rack struggled with her shots and finished with only 4 points, but senior guards Tysheka Grimes and Armelie Lumanu took up her slack with 19 and 18 points respectively.
However, 2 minutes into the second half, momentum had turned on Mississippi State and a tide of Kentucky blue washed over the Lady Bulldogs.
Even though MSU shot 54 percent in the second half and 48 percent for the game, they had problems holding onto the ball as UK took a 10-turnover advantage which Kentucky turned into 23 points. Mississippi State scored only 7 points off turnovers, and along with losing the momentum in the second half, they lost the semifinal by the score 76-65.
Still, the Lady Bulldogs finished the SEC Tournament with a 1-1 record, with their win against Georgia the second of this season. According to latest rankings on NCAA.org, Georgia is No. 23 in the RPI rankings and the only SEC team to beat Tennessee, which ranks No. 3.
Mississippi State is currently ranked No. 55, and can make its case for an NCAA Tournament bid by pointing out the strength of the conference in which it plays. The SEC itself is the top-ranked conference in the nation, according to the RPI rankings at ESPN.com. Besides its two wins against Georgia, MSU also sports two wins against No. 22 Vanderbilt this season.
ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme shows Mississippi State an eighth-seed for the Dayton bracket, although his predictions will likely change this week. According to Creme’s Bracketology page on ESPN.com, the SEC will receive six tournament bids which should include the SEC Tournament final six: Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Georgia.
However, at this point, this is all speculation. Head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis must now wait until Selection Monday on March 15, when the NCAA announces its final tournament brackets.