No. 9 LSU loses its second straight game to Mississippi State.
Set aside LSU lost to No. 9 Mississippi State 77-73 on Monday night. Darron Williams scored 19 points, and Mjracle Sheppard added 12. Mississippi State’s defense was strong in the third quarter.
LSU had lost their first game in a row, 76-70, to top-ranked South Carolina on Thursday. The Tigers (18-4, 5-3 SEC) had lost three of their last five games.
“This game did not come as a surprise.” “You watch your team to see how they react when you play on the road after an important match like we did with South Carolina,” LSU coach Pam Mulkey said.
“We were ahead and did some good things early on; however, during the second half, our defense just can’t seem to stop the other team when it matters.” You need stops at this level, but we don’t seem to be getting them.
Stats and information from ESPN show that LSU is only the second consecutive defending national champion within the last ten years to lose two straight games.
The other was South Carolina in 2017–18, which lost to both UConn as well as Mississippi State.
MS State won its first game against an AP Top 25 team since March 7, 2020, at No. 16 Kentucky, ending a 15-game losing streak. Miss State’s JerKaila James scored 15 of her total 24 points within the second half (17-5, 4-3).
It was Sheppard’s job to keep LSU All-American guard Hailey Van Lith to four points. She also had six steals, five assists, and four rebounds.
Rogers made six out of ten shots in the field, such as four three-pointers. He also made three important jumpers in the last 30 seconds.
“Those are instances that you used to dream about as a kid—major situations against top teams,” said Rogers. “My teammates and coaches believe in me; they get mad if I fail to hit the ball.” I look forward to those times.”
Angel Reese scored 20 points and grabbed 18 boards for LSU. Flau’jae Johnson scored 18 points by making 8 of 11 shots; Aneesah Morrow added 14; and Mikayla Williams added 11.
Rogers made a 3-pointer with about a minute remaining in the game, giving Mississippi State their first score in almost six minutes. This gave the Bulldogs’ lead six points and helped them secure the win.
The game was close, and LSU led 40–35 at halftime in Starkville. After the half, Mississippi State went on an 11-6 run that tied the game at 46-46. On a Darrione Rogers jumper, they took the victory for good at 55-53.
With 6:52 left, the Bulldogs had a lead of up to nine points. With 2:42 left, Angel Reese made a layup to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 70-67.
Even though LSU tried to come back, the Bulldogs held on for the win in the end. With 17 seconds left, Mikayla Williams made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 76-73.
In the last 10 seconds, she tried to cut the lead to one, but her shot missed the mark, and Mississippi State hung on to win.
To pull off the upset, the Bulldogs shot 52.6% from the field and 52.9% (9 of 17) from three-point range. JerKaila Jordan, a senior guard, led the way with 24 points, four rebounds, and five steals.
She made 9 out of 17 shots from the field and all three of her three-point shots. Rogers scored 19 points off the bench and made four of his eight 3-point shots.
There were four starters for LSU who scored in double figures. Reese had the most points (20) and rebounds (18). But it was not enough to make up for the Tigers’ bad defense and 3-of-17 (21.4%) shooting from 3-point range.
Transfer to All-ACC Hailey Van Lith had a tough night on the field, making just one of six shots on her way to four points and two assists. All four of her 3-point attempts went wide.