When the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs basketball team found out they had been picked as a seven-seed in the next-to-last bracket in the NCAA Women’s Tournament last week on Selection Monday, nervous worry gave way to loud cheers.
But when the final bracket was announced with Ohio State as a potential second round foe, another cheer washed over the players, who had not forgotten a devastating loss last year to OSU in the same round. The Buckeyes held MSU scoreless the last six minutes of that matchup to surge past the Lady Bulldogs and push them out of the 2009 Tournament.
For the next year, the senior-laden Lady Bulldogs hoped to get one more shot at the Buckeyes to right that wrong.
On Tuesday they got their chance, against an even stronger Ohio State that led the nation in 3-pointers and easily dispatched St. Francis in the first round, 93-59.
OSU got off to a fast 18-10 lead minutes into the matchup. But Mississippi State would not be denied for long.
The first half ended at 46-34 on a 20-2 run by the Lady Bulldogs that rocked second-seeded Ohio State.
The second half turned out to be more of the same as OSU could not get closer than nine points. As the game wore on and the MSU defense refused to buckle, Buckeye mistakes began to mount. Sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis, who committed 10 of the team’s 24 turnovers, lashed out in frustration and fouled out of the game on a technical, with just over four minutes remaining.
The ensuing free throws by Rack pushed the lead to 20, which would be the final margin of victory and the worst loss for OSU in the tournament since 1996. Rack finished with 30 points, while seniors Chanel Mokango and Armelie Lumanu contributed 19 and 17 points respectively. Govero added 15 points, going 5 for 6 behind the arc.
Head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said a 24-to-11 turnover ratio was the difference for MSU.
“We scored 37 or so points off of turnovers,” she said. “Sometimes you get those opportunities and don’t collect on them; then you’re not doing your job. We used those turnovers and got the ball to the rim, but we cashed in tonight.”
OSU center Jantel Lavender said her team lost the game by not protecting the ball.
“The numbers don’t lie,” she said. “They did a good job creating turnovers, and not only that, but they finished when they created them. We didn’t. It’s really as simple as that. They capitalized and did a good job on the fast break.”
Rack said MSU just wanted the game more than the Buckeyes.
“We stayed focused and stayed hungry,” she said. “We just came into this game hungrier than they were. It was a game of runs. They went on their run early, and we knew sooner or later we would have ours. We did and never looked back.”
With the victory, MSU earned a trip to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history. They will next face a dangerous Florida State (28-5) in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday.
Sophomore guard Diamber Johnson said she was excited at the opportunity to move on.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “I went from watching it, to now being in it. It really is a dream come true.”