Alabama Women's Basketball Takes Tough Loss to Mississippi State, 65-62

Alabama suffered its second SEC loss of the 2021-22 season in a physical game at Coleman Coliseum.

Author:
Clayton Connick
Publish date:
Jan 6, 2022 8:59 PM EST

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It wasn't so much that the shots weren't falling in, just Alabama wasn't getting as many as Mississippi State.

That was the difference in women's basketball at Coleman Coliseum on Thursday night.

The game played out as an evenly matched contest, with both teams trading runs throughout the night. Ultimately, Alabama was unable to overcome the Bulldogs consistent production, falling 65-62.

Mississippi State (10-4) featured a three-headed scoring monster of Anastasia Hayes, Myah Taylor, and JerKaila Jordan, who combined for 52 of the Bulldogs 65 points.

"Credit Mississippi State," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said postgame. "When Jordan, Hayes, and Taylor combine for 52 of 65, I thought that they really at those three spots dominated us at times, and you just have to credit those kids."

The Crimson Tide was led by the effort from experienced guard Hannah Barber, who shot the ball extremely well throughout the game. Barber finished with 19 points including five made threes.

"Proud of Hannah, she has really been getting in the gym and getting a lot of extra shots up," Curry said.

Alabama began the game lights out from the field, hitting three shots from deep on its first three possessions. The Bulldogs were up to the challenge, though, as they forced five Alabama turnovers in the first quarter, propelling them to a 6-0 run and an early lead.

Both squads shot 50 percent to open the game, but Mississippi State shot eight more times, helping the Bulldogs to a 20-16 lead after one quarter.

In the middle of the second quarter, Alabama locked in defensively and began to get shots inside, giving the Crimson Tide a 6-0 run to ease back into the game and cutting the Bulldog lead that had gotten up to eight early in the second.

The Crimson Tide was an impressive 11-of-21 from the floor in the first half, with 4-of-7 shooting from the three point line.

Alabama was unable to regain the lead, however, because of the turnover discrepancy. The Crimson Tide had 11 first half turnovers, and Mississippi State had just four. This gave the Bulldogs more possessions, and they turned Alabama's turnovers into 14 points and took a 37-32 lead into the half.

During the third quarter, Alabama saw its first lead since early in the first thanks to a 7-0 run that was capped with a Megan Abrams deep ball. Mississippi State kept up its efficient play, though, and the Bulldogs were able to go on an 8-0 run and maintain a slight 51-49 lead headed into the final quarter.

Alabama once again found a way to spark a lead early in the fourth quarter, but a Mississippi State 7-0 run in the final three minutes gave the Bulldogs the three point victory.

The Crimson Tide had a rough fourth quarter shooting the ball, with just a 29.4 percent clip from the field. Alabama was in striking distance as the game was winding down, but the Crimson Tide was unable to scrap its way to the win.

"I think we know the two things we can control, we know we can control our energy, and we know we can control our effort," Barber said. "When we don't do that for 40 minutes, we're going to have some issues. I think that's what it was tonight, whether we made shots or we missed shots, we shouldn't allow that to dictate how we're playing on both ends of the floor."

The game was led by both teams' starters, as there were only seven bench points combined in the contest. Mississippi State's 40 points in the paint outlasted Alabama's three-point shooting ability, which the Crimson Tide relied on for nearly half of its production.

"Yes, we are shooting well from three, but we sure are missing a lot from point blank," Curry said. "We've got to be tough enough to finish those shots whether it's threes or at the rim."

It was the Crimson Tide's first SEC home loss of the season. Overall, Alabama is 10-4, 1-2 in league play.