Mississippi State Women's Basketball Comes Up Short at Chattanooga

After rising up to No. 21 in the AP poll, the Lady Bulldogs lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Thud. That was the sound of the Mississippi State basketball program on Sunday. Once again, the women's team followed the men's team a little too closely, and just like their counterparts suffered a second-straight loss after rising to No. 21 in the AP Top 25. 

What was different was the opponent. The Lady Bulldogs (8-2) stumbled at Chattanooga, 59-53 

MSU was again without its two best post players, Jessika Carter and Erynn Barnum, due to injury. Head coach Sam Purcell also missed another game due to an undisclosed illness he has been dealing with since the game against Tulsa.

JerKaila Jordan notched her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. It was an impressive performance after being in foul trouble and not finding a rhythm in the previous game.

Graduate student Lauren Park-Lane finished with 14 points and surpassed 2,000 career points. However, it was a quiet offensive day for the rest of the team as the closest leading scorer outside of Jordan and Park-Lane was Debreasha Powe with six points.

MSU played well in the first half but the second half was riddled with careless turnovers with forced and impulsive shots that took them out of the game. The lack of post-play has also affected the offense in more ways than expected. While they won the rebounding battle 32-25, the lack of second-chance opportunities that Carter and Barnum provide hurts Mississippi State when the teams is struggling to find points.

It was UTC's sixth-ever victory over a ranked opponent and first since 2014

The Lady Bulldogs will be back on Dec. 11 against Kennesaw State at Humphrey Coliseum where they look to get back into the win column before SEC play starts in January.  

Mississippi State Men's Basketball Collapses Against Southern, 60-59