Instant Reaction: Mississippi State Upsets No. 15 Tennessee 77-62

After a disastrous first quarter, Mississippi State flipped the script and defeated the Lady Vols. A dominant rebounding edge and strong defense carried the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State's Destiney McPhaul, right, and Chandler Prater, left, react during Thursday's upset win against No. 15 Tennessee. | Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell wanted to see his team play on the road like it does at home like it did last week in an upset of then-No. 7 Kentucky.

He got his wish Thursday evening in Knoxville, Tenn.

After a disastrous first quarter (see first half reaction below), the Bulldogs dominated No. 15 Tennessee, winning 77-62, on the strength of a great defense and rebounding performance.

Mississippi State out-rebounded Tennessee 50-31 and held the Lady Vols to just 32% from the field, including 4-of-21 on three-point attempts. Things like that are what allow a team to win despite committing 24 turnovers.

Here’s how this writer reacted to each half of Thursday’s game.

First Half Reaction

What did we just see? A college basketball game couldn’t have more drastically different first two quarters.

The first quarter ended with Tennessee leading 12-9. Mississippi State turned the ball over 11 times, which led to 10 points off turnovers for the Lady Vols.

The Bulldogs shot just 30% from the field and was 1-of-4 from three-point range.

Other than scoring points off turnovers, Tennessee wasn’t much better offensively. They shot 66% from the field and were 0-of-5 on three pointers.

Then in the second quarter, Mississippi State got hot. Really hot.

The Bulldogs scored 26 points with a 52.6% shooting performance and 5-of-9 on three pointers. Five players had five or more points scored, out-rebounded Tennessee 15-7 and recorded five assists. They ended the first half on a 9-0 run highlighted by a 30-second stretch to bring the halftime score 35-26.

Left Jay all alone 🤷‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/3Wg0hccPlv

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) January 30, 2026

With a 29-26 lead, Trayanna Crisp caught a quick pass and drained a three-pointer. On the Lady Vols’ next possession, Madison Francis jumped a pass and found Crisp in transition, who drained another three.

That put Mississippi State ahead by nine at halftime and led to a very excited halftime interview with coach Sam Purcell.

But there’s a whole other half to play. We’ll see if Mississippi State can maintain this pace in the next 20 minutes.

Second Half Reaction

Spoiler: The Bulldogs maintained it.

Tennessee never made things close or interesting with a big scoring run, mostly because Mississippi State’s offense didn’t let up.

The Bulldogs kept shooting well, ending with a 48.2 shooting percentage and continued dominating the boards.

11 for Mattie! pic.twitter.com/hcCUwP7fTY

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) January 30, 2026

Tennessee stayed true to its form, with a continuous full court press, which led to so many Mississippi State turnovers. But the Bulldogs played it well, quick passes to start and smart passes to beat the press and find a wide open teammate for a field goal.

It was a great game for Mississippi State and one that showed these Bulldogs are improving. And in doing so, becoming a lot more dangerous.

Mississippi State Top Performers

• Points: Kharyssa Richardson, 21
• Rebounds: Favour Nwaedozi, 14
• Assists: Destiney McPhaul, 5
• Steals: Trayanna Crisp, 3
• Blocks: Madison Francis, 2

Next Up

Mississippi State’s run of facing ranked opponents has come to an end. The Bulldogs will face Missouri at 2 p.m. Sunday on SECN+.