State Drops Home Matchup vs. Alabama, 86-78

Thursday, January 14

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

8-3,3-2SEC

Alabama

11-1,4-1SEC

Alabama

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

State Drops Home Matchup vs. Alabama, 86-78

January 14, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Quotes WATCH: MSU Postgame Presser

By: Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – No. 14 Mississippi State dropped its home contest against Alabama on Thursday night, 86-78, after a sluggish second half for the Bulldogs.

"The biggest thing that I told them was that you can't lose games like this, not when you have the game in control," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "This is a very experienced team. We needed to execute the gameplan for 40 minutes. We have to do that to win games. The other thing is that we are a team that gets in the paint. We had 30 points in the first half and four in the second. We went away from what we wanted to do. We just didn't execute. I told them that you just have to know the scout for 40 minutes.

"Hats off to Alabama. They came in with an attack mentality. I thought they had us on our heels in the second half. I thought we had them right where we needed to in the first half. In the second half, we talked about what to expect. We didn't handle it. We couldn't guard them at the rim."

After taking an 11-point lead into halftime, Mississippi State (8-3, 3-2 SEC) was outscored 53-34 in the second half. The Crimson Tide (11-1, 4-1 SEC) had the hot hand shooting during the half, converting on 59 percent (20-of-34) of its shots. After scoring just two points in the paint during the first 20 minutes of the game, Alabama came out aggressive and scored 28 points in the paint in the second half.

The Bulldogs struggled on the glass, getting outrebounded 44-34 for the game and allowing 16 offensive boards. The Crimson Tide turned those second-chance opportunities into 21 points. Although State won the scoring battle down low 34-30, Alabama was able to get to the charity stripe 11 more times than MSU, shooting 17-of-21 from the free throw line.

State shot 47 percent from the field for the game and got some quality production from its bench, which outscored UA 31-6. The Bulldogs also did well in transition, recording 23 fast-break points compared to seven for Alabama. MSU found success in passing the ball for open looks, assisting on 20 of its 31 baskets in the contest.

Rickea Jackson and Myah Taylor were the leading scorers for Mississippi State, finishing with 15 points each. Jackson added five rebounds and four assists, while Taylor chipped in six assists and three steals and knocked down three 3-pointers. Jessika Carter narrowly missed a double-double, posting 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and an assist.

Madison Hayes and Aliyah Matharu both earned their first starts of the season for State. Hayes, who notched the first start of her career, recorded nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Matharu added six points, three steals and an assist.

Alabama was led by five double-digit scorers. Jordan Lewis paced the Crimson Tide with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Crimson Tide shot 43 percent from the floor for the matchup and knocked down 11 3-pointers.

The opening period was an offensive showdown. State had the hot hand, shooting a blazing 69 percent from the field. On the other end of the floor, Alabama knocked down five 3-pointers to fuel its scoring. Taylor knocked down a pair of threes herself to help MSU take an early 22-21 lead.

The second stanza was all Mississippi State. The Bulldogs defense kept the Crimson Tide in check, holding it to just 13-percent shooting (2-of-16) from the floor and 18 percent (2-of-11) from beyond the arc. State didn't allow a basket for a stretch of 7:43 during the period. On the other end of the floor, Jackson fueled the offense with nine points, helping MSU extend its advantage to 44-33 at halftime.

Alabama quickly clawed back into the game, knocking down eight of its first 11 shots in the third quarter and pulling within three points with 4:02 left in the period. UA shot 58 percent from the field for the stanza. After the Crimson Tide tied the game, Jackson made a clutch 3-pointer from the corner with 36 seconds remaining to keep State ahead going into the final frame, 62-61.

After both teams used 5-0 scoring runs to open the fourth quarter, Alabama's offense was able to pull away, shooting 60 percent from the floor during the period. The Crimson Tide sealed the victory by knocking down all six of their free throws for the stanza.

Up next, Mississippi State heads to College Station, Texas, for a top-15 matchup with No. 7 Texas A&M at Reed Arena on Sunday. The game will tip at 12 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN2 and streamed on the MSU Radio Network.

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