Bulldogs fall at Tennessee Thursday

Thursday, February 24

Knoxville, Tenn.

5:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

15-12,6-9SEC

#16 Tennessee

22-6,11-4SEC

Mississippi St.

Tennessee

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs fall at Tennessee Thursday

February 24, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: Kelly Shipp, Assistant Director/Communications

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Mississippi State closed out its 2021-22 road slate, falling to Tennessee, 86-64, who caught fire from behind the arc in the second half.

Caterrion Thompson had her second straight 15+ point scoring game, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and four three-pointers. This marks her eighth time scoring in double digits this season and her sixth time making three or more shots from behind the arc.

Anastasia Hayes was productive as always for the Bulldogs, finishing with a team-high 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Aislynn Hayes was the top producer off the bench for State, finishing with eight points, two assists, and two made three-pointers. This was Aislynn's 10th game of the season with multiple made threes.

Ashley Jones also finished with six points, two rebounds, and a season-high two steals, while Charlotte Kohl was one of the Bulldogs' top rebounders for the third straight game with five boards to go with her six points and one blocked shot. Myah Taylor finished with two points, two rebounds, four assists, along with three steals and two blocks.

Despite a tightly-fought first half with Mississippi State trailing by just three at the break, 30-27, Tennessee stormed out of the gates in the second half with a 14-2 run and outscored State 30-16 in the third quarter, increasing the Lady Vols lead to 17 points heading into the final frame. Tennessee would go on to win by a score of 86-64.

Game Notes:

Tennessee made just one triple in the first half and made 8 in the second.
Fouls were an issue all game as Tennessee was called for just 2 through three quarters while MSU was called for 10.
The Lady Vols shot 12 free throws to Mississippi State's 7. State didn't shoot its first free throw until late in the third quarter.

Quoting Coach Novak
On Tennessee's defense early in the game
"That first quarter, I felt like we didn't create enough space because we didn't play with enough pace, but holding them to 15 was probably not bad. So, we were doing a decent job of pressuring some wings to make it tougher to look into the key. Obviously, that didn't go very well for the entire game, but the tone was set on that defensive end. We didn't really turn it over that much, and we were getting steals, so some parts of that game plan were working, but we just didn't play with the right pace and space to utilize the skills that we have out there. We just needed to hit a few shots as well."

Up Next
Mississippi State will honor its seniors on Sunday, Feb. 27, in the regular-season finale against Arkansas. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 5 p.m., with senior day recognition set for pregame.

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.

– HailState.com –