NASHVILLE – It was a road the Lady Bulldogs had traveled twice before in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Four years after dropping a 70-67 decision to perennial powerhouse Tennessee and one year after a 76-75 loss against the Lady Vols, the undersized Lady Dawgs (15-16) once again pushed Tennessee (26-3) to its limits before running out of gas.
Despite shooting 35.9 percent from the field and just three of 12 from three-point range in the first half, the Lady Dawgs tied the Lady Vols at 35 in the first half thanks to a 20-2 edge in points of turnovers.
The Lady Dawgs double- teamed Tennessee’s low post players in the first half and held Shyra Ely and Ashley Robinson to five points.
“I knew what was happening with the double team in the first half,’ Ely said. “I just had to refocus in the second half.”
Ely scored 14 of her 17 in the second half and the Lady Vols scored 18 of 32-second half points in the paint.
“Our defensive intensity in the second half was not what it was in the first,” said MSU head coach Sharon Fanning.
State hung around and trailed 50-49 with 7:17 to go when fatigue set in. Tennessee went to a two-three zone that State just couldn’t bust. The Lady Dawgs scored eight points the rest of the way and lost a step on defense.
“Anytime you look at why you won or lost a game you look at defense, rebounding and shot selection,” Fanning said. “I thought we defended as hard as we could in the first half, and to have 17 offensive rebounds was a real plus, but our shot selection was poor, especially in the second half.”
State went eight for 37 in the second half and missed 11 of 12 treys in the final session.
“Nobody’s shots were falling-mine weren’t, either,” said MSU guard Tan White, who scored 16 of her game-high 25 in the first half. White went nine of 32 on the day.
Tiania Burns followed with eight points in 23 minutes. Foul trouble limited Burns’ action.
“It’s hard to win any game with only one player in double figures,” Fanning said.
Conversely, the Lady Vols made 11-20 from the field and 10-16 from the free throw line en route to the 67-57 win.
“We were pressing a little bit early, but with seven seconds on the shot clock and you’re a senior, you have to put the ball in your hands,” Butts said.
“I told my staff that we won in spite of ourselves,” said Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt. “We learned what we didn’t do at halftime and handled the double teams with more composure, but give Mississippi State credit. They have great quickness.”
Now State will hope for a postseason berth in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.