| Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Today in History for January 28
Today’s highlights in history: The Challenger space shuttle explodes; Sir Francis Drake dies; José Martí is born; Vince Lombardi is named head coach.
AP
STARKVILLE – The state of Mississippi is not there now. Far from it.
No. 19 Bulldogs had a chance to prove that a few slips early in the conference game did not define who they are with No. 3 Gamecocks in the city on Thursday night. They missed the target – literally.
Mississippi State hit 10 out of 35 (28.6%) field in the first half. Offensive production was not substantial enough overnight to beat a Top 5 opponent while Bulldogs fell to Gamecocks 75-52.
MSU coach Nikki McCray-Penson considered South Carolina’s 21-3 lead on second chance points and 17-8 on fastbreak points as key elements for his team’s defeat.
“We knew that in these two areas we had to hold on to it,” said McCray-Penson.
The Bulldogs did not do this for long.
Here are three conclusions from MSU’s loss to South Carolina (13-1, 8-0 SEC) on a night when the Bulldogs hit 22 out of 65 (33.8%) from the ground.
Back on the calendar
Mississippi State (8-5, 3-4) has a record loss in conference games for the first time since 2013-14, and has lost three consecutive games for the first time since the same season.
The Bulldogs have gotten used to competing with South Carolina. The series has been tied for the past six meetings. But South Carolina has now won the last three, and Thursday’s game proved that there seems to be an increasing separation between the two programs.
South Carolina was not dominant until the game left Mississippi in the fourth period, but it never seemed that Gamecocks were in danger of losing from the second period on. Mississippi State was defeated by 26 to 12 in the second half, and visitors never looked back.
South Carolina beat Mississippi State by 21-11 in fourth place.
“We have to take this victory on the road against a good Mississippi State team,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “And I know people may not think that, but they have players. They have some great players. They didn’t get it all together, but I’m sure another month will come, Nikki will have everyone in action.”
A tale of two halves
As happened two weeks ago against Alabama, sophomore striker Rickea Jackson did not make her debut, even though she was the team’s top scorer.
Jackson got off the bench and scored two points in 15 minutes of the first half. She heated up in the second half and ended the game with 15 points, but it was too late.
Mississippi State plunged into a 13-point deficit in the range, and the Bulldogs failed to escape that in the second half. Jackson scored nine points in the third quarter, but South Carolina matched the state of Mississippi in the table with 18 points each.
The owner continues to produce
The streak of three consecutive defeats in the state of Mississippi was not the fault of its junior red-shirt owner. Myah Taylor hit double digits for the fourth consecutive game, marking the first time in her career that she achieved this.
Taylor scored 10 points in just five shooting attempts. She led the team with five assists, but also had a team with five turns. For better or worse, Taylor has been heavily involved as the state of Mississippi struggles to find itself offensively.
Taylor received no consolation awards for his performance.
“Everything we planned, everything we practiced, we didn’t do,” said Taylor.
The Bulldogs have another week off before returning to the Humphrey Coliseum against Tennessee on February 4. McCray-Penson wants to see the team that beat South Carolina 11-11 in the first quarter by four quarters against the Volunteers.
“We can look at the first quarter and show them, say to them, ‘Hey, it’s us. That’s what we have to do,'” said McCray-Penson. “We continue to do this for 40 minutes, we will win basketball games.”
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