Mississippi State defeats Tennessee in double overtime

STARKVILLE, MRS. – Regulation was not enough as the Mississippi State women’s basketball team used two overtime periods to defeat Tennessee, 91-90, in front of a crowd of more than 5,000. The win moved the Bulldogs to 16-7 overall and 5-5 in the SEC, while the loss dropped Tennessee’s record to 17-9 overall and 8-2 in the SEC.

It was the second straight doubleheader win for MSU since March 24, 2014, against Southern Miss when the Bulldogs won 74-66. It was also coach Sam Purcell’s 16th career victory making him the winningest first-year head coach in program history.

JerKaila Jordan was the driving force for the Bulldog offense, knocking down a season-high 24 points, six rebounds and three steals. Jordan scored 11 in the first half, 12 in the second half and a huge free throw in overtime.

Joining Jordan in double figures are Asiaae Johnson and Anastasia Hayes. Johnson, the main spark for the Bulldogs late in the contest with six straight points in the fourth quarter, tied his season-high on Friday with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. In the second overtime, Hayes took over after the frame started with a Tennessee three. After buckets from Johnson and Ramani Parker, Hayes scored five straight points, including three at the free throw line to help push MSU’s lead to six. Hayes finished the game with 14 points, along with eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Game Notes

• First State score in double figures in first quarter since Jan. 19 vs. Auburn (18)
• The game was tied 31 to 31 at halftime
• The Bulldogs outshot the Lady Vols 40-26 in the paint
• 91 tied for most points State has scored against Tennessee
• State improves to 2-0 against Lady Vols in OT (first came in Starkville 1/29/2016)
• Jordan scored 24 points, his most in SEC play since scoring 20 last season
• It was a Bulldog-high 20 NET wins
• It was the Bulldogs’ first win in 2OT since 2014 against Southern Miss
• The state bench defeated the Lady Vols 40-34
• Tennessee was held to 4 steals, tied for most this season.
• Bulldogs 3rd straight SEC home win
• The Bulldogs are now 11-2 at home
• Charlotte Kohl made the 12th start of her career this season
• Ramani Parker has now hit three pointers in each of his past three games
• Tennessee shot 44 free throws to Mississippi State’s 33 free throws

Quoting Coach Sam Purcell

Opening statement

We’ve had a good talk this week. I have some tired body and tired mind, and we go back to the basics, and start with me. We do so much. We know how to make a play, I have to get out of the way, but at the same time you all have to bring your attitude, your tenacity. We made a change in transition defense, and I told them both, double A battery there, [Asianae] and [Anastasia], you’re both the fastest kids in the SEC. You want to win, you want to change the tempo for our team, they have to feel you for four quarters, but obviously, tonight was more.

Quoting Anastasia Hayes

How do you know if the coach has your back too

“It means a lot of what they have [our] back. Having a coach that wrestles and tells you he’s going to wrestle is awesome. At that moment, I felt like we had a close relationship, and I could have been like “Coach, take it easy”, but we stayed and won, and he stayed positive, we stayed positive, and we had it. the back.”

Until Next Time

Mississippi State will be on the road Friday when they travel to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the Florida Gators. Tip-off is set for 6 pm CT.