Mississippi State Women's Basketball Loses in Overtime to Ole Miss, 75-71

The Mississippi State Women's Basketball team dropped its second game in a row, losing to Ole Miss 75-71.

Mississippi State dropped its second game in a row, losing to rival Ole Miss in overtime, 75-71, after coming back from twelve points down in regulation. Ole Miss, with its win, improves to 8-4 in conference play and jumps the Bulldogs in SEC standings to fourth place.

State came out of the gate slow, going down 18-6 halfway through the first quarter. Ole Miss, in the first five minutes alone, forced five Mississippi State turnovers, and scored six points off of them. 

Closing out the opening quarter, the Bulldogs put together a 10-2 run and brought the score within 4 after two three pointers from seniors Darrione Rogers and JerKaila Jordan. 

Limitless Range 🏹#HailState🐶 x @darrione_rogers pic.twitter.com/DfKXy1LHiA

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) February 18, 2024

In the second quarter, turnovers continued to plague the Bulldogs. The team finished the first half with twelve total which made way for eight Ole Miss points. 

Heading into halftime, Mississippi State faced a 31-26 deficit despite a strong performance from its leading scorer, Jordan, who had nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.

The Bulldogs, through the opening minutes of the second half, were more secure with the ball, and kept the Rebels at bay, forcing two early Ole Miss turnovers that led to Mississippi State points. 

Finally, late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs tied the game off a pair of three pointers from Rogers before eventually taking the lead off of an Erynn Barnum layup. 

Back-to-back threes from D!#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/LwoRGiRfd2

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) February 18, 2024

Mississippi State entered the fourth quarter with a three point lead, having bounced back from a twelve point deficit. 

Ole Miss continued to find ways to disrupt the Bulldogs offense and force turnovers early in the quarter, but State was able to extend its lead to six after a Barnum and-one. 

Barnum finished the game with 16 points, scoring twelve of which in the second half. 

ANNNNNND ONE 5!#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/LDnE5FSNJr

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) February 18, 2024

Out of the final TV timeout, Ole Miss found success on both ends of the floor, forcing two turnovers and bringing the game back within four. 

Jordan, once again, was able to stop the bleeding for State briefly with a layup under three minutes that extended the lead back to six, but State's turnover woes struck once more and Ole Miss tied the game at 63, sending the rivalry matchup into overtime. 

Barnum got things started for the Bulldogs in overtime, scoring the team's first two baskets and putting them up by four, but the Rebels quickly responded with a layup from Kennedy Todd-Williams and an and-one from Tyia Singleton that put Ole Miss up by one with just under two minutes left in the overtime period. 

TYIA GETS THE AND 1️⃣@bigticket_ts | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/aghouQmyEx

— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) February 18, 2024

Todd-Williams once again found her way to the basket and extended the Rebel lead to three before a Lauren Park-Lane foul gave Ole Miss the chance to extend it even further. 

Following the Bulldogs' final timeout of the game, with just thirty seconds left, Jordan once again came up big and made a three pointer to bring Mississippi state within two, but it was not enough for the Bulldogs to hold on for victory. 

Senior forward Madison Scott finished as not only the Rebels leading scorer, but the game's leader with 20 points. 

Todd-Williams wreaked havoc on the Mississippi State offense, finishing with four steals and two blocks. 

For the Bulldogs, senior JerKaila Jordan was the team's leading scorer with 18 points, while Park-Lane and Jessika Carter held down the defensive end with three steals and eleven defensive rebounds between the pair. 

Mississippi State, with Saturday's loss, falls to 20-7 overall and will sit behind rival Ole Miss in the conference standings at sixth place. The Bulldogs return home this week to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on February 22 at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network Plus as they look to right the ship after back-to-back losses. 

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