STARKVILLE — Humphrey Coliseum was as loud as it had been all game, with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State women’s basketball had just knotted the score against Ole Miss and forced a turnover with a jump ball. The final media timeout of the game was called.
After that moment, Ole Miss was in full control.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over six times and scored only two points in the final five minutes of the game. The Rebels (13-5, 4-2 SEC) won 71-63, handing Mississippi State (15-5, 2-4) its second consecutive conference loss.
“You could feel the energy in the building where our kids wanted it,” MSU coach Sam Purcell said. “And then we went home-run ball instead of just making better screens, and most importantly, getting open so we could get into our sets.”
Turnovers are still an issue for Mississippi State
The six turnovers down the stretch were costly, but so were the 17 before that. The 23 total turnovers are the most Mississippi State has committed all season.
Eniya Russell, who scored 15 points, had seven turnovers. Four other Bulldogs had at least three turnovers. Rebels freshman Sira Thienou swiped nine steals, tied for third-most in program history.
It is Mississippi State’s sixth game and second in a row with at least 20 turnovers this season.
“I think our biggest issue is most likely, like Coach Sam said, they did better denying the ball in the fourth quarter,” Russell said. “Getting the ball in bounds is probably our biggest problem right now. We can fix it in practice, being more aggressive in practice and getting more reps at it.”
It played a big part in Mississippi State’s early lead slipping away. It jumped out to an 18-8 lead, committing just two turnovers in first 10 minutes. But as the turnovers arrived, MSU’s lead disappeared.
It worsened particularly in the second quarter, when the Bulldogs had seven turnovers. Ole Miss outscored them 15-9 in the quarter, taking its first lead of the game.
“They scored 26 points off of our turnovers,” Purcell said. “That’s ball game, people.”
MORE: How Riley Kugel, RJ Melendez played OT heroes in Mississippi State basketball win vs Ole Miss
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State women’s basketball: Turnovers costly vs Ole Miss
