Bulldogs Fall To USF, 67-63

Saturday, December 5

Tampa, Fla.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

2-1,0-0SEC

South Florida

2-1,0-0AAC

OT 1

Mississippi St.

South Fla.

December 05, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State dropped its first game of the season in a 67-63 overtime loss at USF in the Yuengling Center on Saturday, Dec. 5.

"First of all, I'm very disappointed in our loss," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "I want to give our hat off to South Florida. I thought they came in and really controlled the tempo. They made us play in the half court. Obviously, that is an area that we have to get better at. The story of the game is 23 offensive rebounds. We talked about that. I thought for the most part we defended them in the half court, but we gave up 23 offensive rebounds. We can't do that. We talked about that. We were 21-34 from the free throw line. You're not going to win games on the road that way. Also, 21 turnovers. That's the story. We just have to get better. It's as simple as that."

The Bulldogs (2-1) couldn't overcome offensive woes, shooting 34 percent from the field and just 15 percent from beyond the arc. State earned 34 trips to the charity stripe but converted on just 21 of those attempts. Mississippi State also struggled to take care of the ball, ending the game with 21 turnovers that the Bulls converted into 25 points.

USF (2-1) lost the battle on the boards but came up with some timely offensive rebounds that fueled their offense to 25 second-chance points. The final offensive rebound came with 41 seconds left in the game, which the Bulls used to draw a foul and get to the free throw line with 29 seconds remaining. South Florida knocked down both free throws to take a 65-63 lead.

State finished with three double-digit scorers. Rickea Jackson had a game-high 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Aliyah Matharu added 17 points and Jessika Carter chipped in 15 points.

Elisa Pinzan fueled the Bulls on both ends of the floor, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals in the contest.

State opened the game by driving to the paint early and often, scoring 10 points down low and shooting 6-of-8 from the charity stripe off fouls drawn while going to the basket. Jackson and Carter both had seven points to fuel a Bulldog offense that shot 50 percent from the floor during the period. MSU held a 19-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs went cold on offense during the second stanza, shooting just 21 percent from the field. USF opened frame on 14-4 run to take its first lead of the game. Mississippi State had just one basket during the final 7:21 of the quarter and entered halftime facing a 36-31 deficit.

MSU opened the third quarter on a 16-5 run to pull back ahead, with Matharu scoring 10-straight points during the stretch. However, the Bulls got the hot hand from beyond the arc and knocked down three 3-pointers to end the stanza on an 11-0 swing. The Bulldogs trailed 52-47 going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth frame was a back-and-forth battle between both teams that featured eight lead changes. When State needed someone to get a basket, Jackson came up with a pair of huge buckets down the stretch to keep the Bulldogs in the game. Both teams had a chance to hit the game-winning shot in the last 20 seconds, but the two teams were knotted up at 60-60 when the clock hit 0:00, sending the game to overtime. State shot 0-of-5 from the field in overtime was unable to match the Bulls in the 67-63 loss.

Up next, Mississippi State returns to Humphrey Coliseum home for a three-game homestand, beginning with a matchup against Troy on Monday, Dec. 14, for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ as well as the MSU Radio Network.

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."