The Mississippi State women’s basketball team may have ended its regular season with a loss against No. 6 LSU, but they will be back for more conference play for the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The Dawgs hosted the Tigers on Sunday and fought until the very end, but ultimately fell short with a score of 72-63.
Mississippi State opened the game on a high note, only trailing behind the Tigers by two points at the end of the first quarter. Kharyssa Richardson, a senior transfer from Ole Miss and Auburn, was the lead scorer for the Bulldogs, putting up 18 points.
“The first five minutes always mean the most,” Richardson said. “Like, just punch them in the face, guarding and just getting stops.”
The Dawgs went into halftime with a 35-22 disadvantage, but came back ready to finish the fight. MSU turned it into a 3-point game with just under six minutes left of the third quarter, then took a 39-38 lead with 4:44 left of the third.
“In that second half, we all looked at each other like ‘we ain’t going out like no punks’,” Head Coach Sam Purcell said. “We’re gonna press, we’re gonna get after them, we’re gonna track the ball screens and we’re gonna leave it out on the court. I think that’s why you saw a 25-point quarter.”
In just the third quarter, the Dawgs scored more than they did in the whole first half, showing that they were not going out without a fight.
A minute after the Bulldogs were the leading team, LSU came back and reversed the roles, having a two-point lead over Mississippi State. The teams ended the third quarter with LSU up five points, 52-47.
MSU scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, seven of which came from Richardson. Purcell spoke positively about his team’s resume heading into the SEC Tournament.
“I love it,” Purcell said. “Nobody has signature wins like we do.”
The Dawgs ended their season with an 18-11 record, and two of those wins came from top-25 team defeats: No. 7 Kentucky and No. 15 Tennessee.
“We’re playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country,” Purcell said. “Like, everybody’s beat everybody in this conference, so the committee is going to have a choice to make: who had the best wins?”
MSU is entering the tournament as the No. 13 seed and will battle in game two against No. 12 Florida, whom they previously lost to 71-56.
“It’s a new season,” Purcell said. “Regular season is done now. This is the best time of the year, and we’re gonna go with that energy to South Carolina.”
The Bulldogs are ready for a fight, and they have nothing but pure determination heading into the tournament.
Favour Nwaedozi, a junior transfer from Mukogawa Women’s University in Japan, talked about how much the team wanted this opportunity.
“We’re hungry for this,” Favour Nwaedozi said. “Like you said, this is the part of the season where it’s win or go home, and we aren’t ready to go home. So the only option here is win and that’s what we’re going for.”
During the matchup against LSU, Nwaezodi scored ten points for her team.
The Dawgs will tip off against Florida at 1:30 p.m. on March 4. If they secure the win against Florida, they will face No. 5 Oklahoma with a shot to play No. 4 LSU for a rematch.
“We’re battle testing, and we deserve the opportunity,” Purcell said. “We got to finish business.”
