STARKVILLE – After giving up 95 points to Oklahoma in its last outing, Mississippi State once again didn’t have enough answers on defense.
Mia Pauldo scored 26 points for Tennessee, and the Volunteers came away with a 90-80 win over Mississippi State on Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum. Madison Francis had a double-double for the Bulldogs with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Kharyssa Richardson also had 22 points.
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“What got us in trouble is, a team like that, you can’t let them have a lead,” Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell said. “The 26 (points) we gave up and not talking, that game is going to eat my team up because as energized as we were and a great practice, You can’t have those slip-ups in the scout, and that’s what happened that quarter.”
The two teams went back and forth for much of the first quarter until Tennessee (11-3, 3-0 SEC) ended it with a 10-2 run to take a 26-19 lead. Pauldo had 12 points in the first quarter alone.
Mississippi State (14-3, 1-2) cut the deficit to four points in the second quarter before Tennessee scored 10 unanswered points, giving the Volunteers a 40-26 lead. Tennessee took a 47-37 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Mississippi State not only struggled to slow down Tennessee’s offense, it had a difficult time slowing down Tennessee in terms of speed. The Volunteers pushed the pace, and all Mississippi State could do was try to keep up. Tennessee shot 55.9 percent from the field in the first half, creating an uphill battle for the Bulldogs.
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“Top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism,” Purcell said. “You can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide-open layups, and we did. Then in transition, you got to pick your poison. Again, they’re great one-on-one, have a ton of respect for that roster, and we didn’t form a good enough wall early, which, again, got them to the rim. Then when we did form a wall, you’ve got to tip your hat. I thought they were phenomenal, hitting some big-time shots.”
Tennessee kept its foot on the gas, pushing the lead to 18 in the middle of the third quarter. Mississippi State mounted a comeback attempt, though, trimming the deficit to 11 entering the fourth quarter.
Six unanswered points for the Bulldogs to start the fourth quarter had the deficit down to five, but the Bulldogs couldn’t get any closer. Mississippi State shot just 30 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, killing any hopes of a comeback. Beyond Pauldo, Tennessee had three more players with double-digit points.
“I love this character, I love this team, and that’s why I love their spirit,” Purcell said. “Do we hate losing? You better believe it, we do. But you know what I love about this team is how they practice. We practice hard, I’ve told y’all this from December 1. I know what I’ve got. Tomorrow, I’ve got to be smart because I have a lot of heavy minutes, but there’s no doubt that they’re not going to put their head down.”
