Same Questions, Same Answers: Mississippi State Falls Flat Again in Loss to Florida

Madison Francis delivered another dominant performance, but she was alone as Mississippi State struggled with turnovers and urgency in a loss to Florida.

Mississippi State forward Favour Nwaedozi puts up a shot during Thursday night's game against Florida. | Mississippi State Athletics

At some point, the questions stop being rhetorical.

Why are turnovers still an issue? Why is the energy inconsistent? Why does a freshman have to be the one dragging the team forward?

Mississippi State walked off its home floor Thursday night with a 71-56 loss to Florida, and none of those questions felt any closer to being answered.

This could’ve been a moment to steady the season, to firmly cement its place in the NCAA Tournament, to show that the last game’s 22-turnover meltdown was an aberration. Instead, the Bulldogs coughed it up 17 more times and never looked like a team ready to play with urgency.

And Sam Purcell didn’t sugarcoat a thing.

“That is the million‑dollar question,” he said when asked why the same issues resurfaced. “There is no way that a freshman should be having more energy than others who have been in this moment.”

That freshman, of course, was Madison Francis, who had 20 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. It was her seventh double‑double, her fourth 20‑point game, her 15th game with three or more blocks. She played like someone who understood the stakes. She played like someone who wasn’t waiting for someone else to set the tone.

Chan goes backdoor! pic.twitter.com/fQWVSJ3xJ2

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) February 20, 2026

But she was also alone.

Mississippi State shot under 40 percent from the field. It made just one three. It left eight points at the free‑throw line. And it never matched Florida’s pace or physicality, especially early. The first quarter — 24 points allowed — was the dagger, as Purcell put it. The Bulldogs never recovered.

The frustration wasn’t just about the loss. It was about the predictability of it.

Purcell said he called two timeouts in the first quarter because he could see the lack of fight. He said the team got emotional. He said the turnovers came from passes they drill every day. He said the scouting report was ignored — that nothing Florida did surprised him, especially Liv McGill and Laila Reynolds, who carved up the Bulldog’s defense exactly the way the staff warned they would.

“We just flat‑out did not do a good job on scouting report defense,” Purcell said. “I am speechless.”

That’s the part that lingers. Not the missed shots. Not the cold perimeter night. Not even the turnovers, though they remain the most stubborn problem on the roster. It’s the idea that Mississippi State didn’t show up with the urgency of a team fighting for its postseason life.

Just like a layup 👌 pic.twitter.com/pl6H0e5L6s

— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) February 20, 2026

This was a chance to take control of the narrative. Instead, it became another chapter in the same story.

To Purcell’s credit, he didn’t hide from the stakes. He didn’t pretend this was just another SEC night. He acknowledged the opportunity. He acknowledged the frustration. And he acknowledged that the standard has to come from the veterans, not the freshman who keeps bailing them out.

“This team still has everything it wants ahead of it,” he said. “But you have to show up every night.”

Sunday brings No. 4 Texas in Austin for a road trip that won’t forgive the kind of start Mississippi State had Thursday. The Bulldogs are still in the tournament picture, but the gab between in and out narrows every time they repeat the same mistakes.

At some point, the questions stop being rhetorical.

At some point, the answers have to change.

Right now, Mississippi State is still waiting for that moment.