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Alabama roars back to upset No. 14 Mississippi State

Bulldogs saw a double-digit lead slip away

STARKVILLE, Miss. – It was less than two weeks ago when, following a loss to Kentucky, Mississippi State head coach Nikki McCray-Penson said her team still had some growing to do. Only about 11 days later, it's evident the Bulldogs are still experiencing some growing pains.

No. 14 MSU was upset at the hands of Alabama on Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs fell 86-78 to the Crimson Tide on a night in which State led by double digits at the start of the second half.

“We can’t lose games like this, especially when you have the game in control," McCray-Penson said. "We went away from what we do.”

Mississippi State (8-3, 3-2) was up 44-33 after the first two quarters of action. The Bulldogs dominated the second quarter – outscoring the Crimson Tide by 10 – and MSU appeared to be cruising toward a victory. State shot 53 percent from the field as a team in the first half and limited Alabama to just 27 percent shooting over the first two stanzas. The Bulldogs were in complete control. Then, the second half started and it all began to slip away.

“The things we were doing in the first half we didn’t do in the second half,” State guard Myah Taylor said. “The game plan was to take away the layups and defend the threes and we didn’t do that in the second half. We need to learn how to finish a game.”

Finishing games has indeed been an issue for this year's Bulldogs. They let one slip away against Kentucky. They nearly let one get away this past Sunday against Ole Miss. Then came Thursday when MSU couldn't put away the Crimson Tide (11-1, 4-1). 

Alabama shot 59 percent as a team in the second half. The Crimson Tide also got to the free throw line nine times over the final two periods and made all nine shots.

Jordan Lewis led the second-half Alabama surge. The guard scored a game-high 22 points for the night with 19 of them coming over the course of the third and fourth quarters. Taylor and Rickea Jackson led the Bulldogs with 15 points apiece, but it wasn't enough for a State team that was outscored 53-34 in the last half of the game.

It was quite a blow for a Bulldog squad that started so strong on this night. MSU made eight of its first 10 shots to begin the game. A new-look starting five saw guards Aliyah Matharu and Madison Hayes open things up in the place of Jackson and JaMya Mingo-Young. McCray-Penson was looking for a spark and she got one. But the good times of course didn't last.

By the end of the night, MSU was searching for answers. The pains of growth had returned. And with a tough stretch of games coming up for State starting with a noon central contest at No. 7 Texas A&M this Sunday, the Bulldogs need to hurry and get grown up.

"It shouldn't take losing to get our attention," Taylor said. "But we did lose, so we have to go back and see what we did wrong, what we didn't do and just grow from it."

Alabama's Megan Abrams dribbles the ball against Mississippi State's Myah Taylor on Thursday night. The Crimson Tide came away with an 86-78 win over the Bulldogs. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)

Alabama's Megan Abrams dribbles the ball against Mississippi State's Myah Taylor on Thursday night. The Crimson Tide came away with an 86-78 win over the Bulldogs. (Photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)

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