“It sucked”: Purcell calls Oklahoma loss a learning moment for Bulldogs

Mississippi State women look to move past a lopsided loss at Oklahoma and refocus with No. 20 Tennessee coming to Starkville.

Mississippi State Guard Trayanna Crisp (#4), Mississippi State Guard Destiney McPhaul (#2), Mississippi State Guard Saniyah King (#1), Mississippi State Guard Chandler Prater (#5) and Mississippi State Center Faith Wylder (#23) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Perfection is incredibly hard to do in any sport and even the greatest teams of any sport have their bad moments.

Mississippi State women’s basketball team isn’t in that conversation, but the Bulldogs had played well for a team returning only two players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team. They really hadn’t played a truly bad game, but that changed Sunday against No. 5 Oklahoma.

The Sooners put on a dominant performance on their home court against the Bulldogs, winning 95-47. It was by far the worst shooting performance by Mississippi State, who made just 20 percent of its field goals.

It’s the type of game coaches don’t watch back with their players.

“It sucked,” Bulldogs’ coach Sam Purcell said on Tuesday. “I hope (the players) had a bad feeling in their mouth on the bus ride home and on the plane ride home. I hope they didn't sleep well because that's what competitors do. We're competitors.”

The challenge now for Purcell and the Bulldogs is to forget about the Oklahoma game and continue having the good practices Purcell has spoken about.

“Hopefully it's a game that we can throw away the tape and burn it, because up to this point, I think we've had a lot of great things that occurred, and in order to beat a Final Four team, you've got to be able to perform both on the offensive and defensive end,” Purcell said. “And what I mean by performing on the offensive end, we had some wide open shots. We started the game 1-9 for shots around the rim, and you can't do that against a Final Four team.

“So, we'll learn from it, bounce back…We need a good practice today, bounce back, no complaining, no excuses, and find a way against a really good Tennessee team.”

That’s the reality of life in the SEC. There’s no time to think too much about previous games because another talented team is next on the schedule.

No. 20 Tennessee (10-3) is coming to Starkville on Thursday after starting SEC play with wins against Florida (76-65) and Auburn (73-56).

“(Tennessee is) phenomenal,” Purcell said about the Lady Vols. “You look at their roster top to bottom. They have several McDonald's All-Americans. They've got kids who, are well-coached in a style of play where they're not going to adapt. They're going to press. They don't care if they're up 50. They're going to press. 

“They're going to muck it up. They're going to hockey sub. They've been battle-tested. They've been challenged. They have a rich history, as we all know, of success within that program and high standards. So, I'm expecting nothing but their best punch.”

The Bulldogs will face Tennessee Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on SECN+.