Mississippi State Women’s Basketball suffers first loss in ACC/SEC Challenge
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No. 21 Mississippi State (8-1) lost to Miami (6-0) 74-68 in a competitive back-and-forth contest in the ACC/SEC Challenge at the Hump.
MSU (8-1) was shorthanded and that seemed to be the issue for most of the night. The Lady Bulldogs were without Jessika Carter and Erynn Barnum and their presence was missed on both ends of the court. Nevertheless, Mississippi State fought through five ties and 11 lead changes before taking the loss.
Lauren Park-Lane picked up the slack by leading the team with a double-double with points and assists while her counterpart, JerKaila Jordan, struggled for most of the game because of foul trouble and inevitably fouled out of the game. She struggled to find a rhythm due to limited time on the floor.
The 3-point shooting helped the Bulldogs stay in the game with timely shots from Darrione Rogers and Debreasha Powe however Miami eventually took that part of the offense away from Mississippi State.
Nyayongah Gony started for the first time in her career and struggled to keep Miami off the boards with second-chance points. MSU got out-rebounded 53-23.
Park-Lane finished with 20 points and 10 assists, while Gony surpassed career-highs in points, rebounds, minutes and blocks with seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 39 minutes.
"I am a proud coach," said head coach Sam Purcell. "To have the week that we had in Houston and then to come home to the obstacles that were thrown at us. I had seven players in the locker room that said 'Coach, give me a jersey and we will find a way'. I couldn't be prouder of them in a night where we were just a couple points shy in the fourth quarter."
The second-chance opportunities, rebounding, and the scoring of Carter and Barnum were missed by the lady Bulldogs in their first loss of the season. MSU plans to have one or both of their forwards back for their next game.
Mississippi State will be looking to bounce back and will travel to Chattanooga to face the Mocs on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
