Comeback Effort Falls Short As Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 13 Georgia

Thursday, January 20

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

11-6,2-3SEC

#13 Georgia

15-3,4-2SEC

Georgia

Mississippi St.

Comeback Effort Falls Short As Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 13 Georgia

January 20, 2022 | Women's Basketball

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By: Kelly Shipp, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women's basketball erased a 27-point deficit Thursday night against No. 13 Georgia with a valiant effort before falling to the Bulldogs, 66-63 inside Humphrey Coliseum.

Rickea Jackson and Anastasia Hayes shouldered the offensive load Thursday and were crucial pieces in State's comeback efforts. Jackson led Mississippi State in scoring, with 27 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Jackson also finished with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Hayes finished with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Hayes and Jackson were a combined 13-18 from the field for 30 points in the second half.

Myah Taylor bounced back offensively on Thursday, finishing with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists to go along with a steal. Taylor scored nine straight points for MSU in the second quarter to halt Georgia's 29-2 run.

Denae Carter returned to the lineup and returned to form on the glass with a team-high 10 rebounds. Carter also chipped in with four points, two blocks, and a career-high four steals.

Georgia completely took the game over in the first half after Mississippi State took a 7-4 lead to open the ball game. Georgia broke the game open with a 25-0 run to take control of the contest right from the start. MSU went over 10 minutes without scoring, with the drought lasting from the 7:36 mark in the first quarter until 7:32 remaining in the second quarter. Georgia would lead by as much as 27 in the first half before taking a 20-point lead into the half, 44-24.

However, MSU was not ready to bow down. State opened the third quarter on an 18-2 run, highlighted by nine points from Jackson. The Bulldogs went on to outscore Georgia 22-10 in the third period to work their way back into the game.

Mississippi State did not let up on the intensity in the final frame, as they started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run and cut the lead down to one, multiple times, before finally taking their first lead of the contest at 63-62 with 53.9 seconds remaining in the game. The Bulldogs had a few good looks late in the contest after Georgia's Mikayla Coombs hit a jumper from the corner with just 42 seconds left to put the No. 13 ranked Bulldogs up for good as time expired.

Quoting Coach Novak
On the team's effort in the second half
"So at halftime, we just regrouped, gathered, went back to those three things, and addressed them again in that order. We came out and just fought and clawed and grabbed about every rebound that we could. There was one segment where there were a bunch of loose balls and we got a little tired. I probably needed a sub in there, but I thought our effort was spectacular. [We] showed some toughness and any of the aftermath of the Ole Miss game kind of got washed away. It's fun to watch kids get lost in a game, and they got lost in a game in a positive way. They were pulling for each other and they were making each other better and they hurt in that locker room after, as they should because when you invest that much, there should be pain and there should be hurt. I was very proud of what we did in that second half."

Up Next
Mississippi State will be on the road for the fourth time in six SEC games. State will travel to Arkansas on Sunday to take on the Razorbacks at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC 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.

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