STARKVILLE — Jordan Danberry and Rickea Jackson stared blankly.
Sitting on either side of coach Vic Schaefer following No. 10 Mississippi State’s 71-64 loss to West Virginia Sunday, the pair represented the past, present and future of Bulldog basketball.
In Danberry’s case, the loss marked the first time in her career she’d walked off the court at Humphrey Coliseum in defeat against a non-conference foe in the regular season — MSU’s first such loss since Nov. 12, 2012 against Hampton.
As for Jackson, the loss marred an otherwise wildly productive 15-point, nine-rebound performance for a freshman who has seemingly found her footing of late.
In all, it meant MSU has now dropped back-to-back games for the first time since 2017.
“There are no excuses,” Schaefer said. “We got outplayed and we got out-toughed and you’ve got to really tip your hat to West Virginia.”
Facing a Mountaineer’s squad that has bounced in and out of the Associated Press top 25 all season, the Bulldogs were outworked on the boards for the second-straight game. After Stanford outmuscled MSU 51-31 in the championship game of the Greater Victoria Invitational last week, WVU bodied the Bulldogs 46-34 on the boards Sunday afternoon.
Taking advantage of their extra possessions, the Mountaineers scored 30 points in the paint and added another 13 points on second chance opportunities — helping coach Mike Carey’s bunch to a 36-28 halftime lead behind eight first half points a piece from Kysre Gondrezick and Kari Niblack.
“We were so passive in the first half — it was terrible,” Schaefer said through a sigh. “Offensively we just looked really anemic and it had to do with how unaggressive we were.”
Entering the locker room at the half, Schaefer was stern with his squad — the effort wasn’t there. His message resonated.
Charging out of the break, the Bulldogs scored the half’s opening five points outscored the Mountaineers 27-13 in the third quarter — just one point shy of the 28 points they scored the entire first half.
With sophomore center Jessika Carter battling foul trouble, Jackson and Danberry led the way offensively. Danberry finished her afternoon with 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting to lead all scorers Sunday, while Jackson’s 15 points were the third-highest output she’s notched this season.
That said, the rest of the Bulldogs struggled to find their form on the offensive end. Carter was the only other double-digit scorer with 11 points, as her impact was limited after she picked up her fourth foul with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter.
MSU’s reserves also did little to pick up the slack — notching all 10 of their points in the second half.
Schaefer was quick to note his team’s meager 15-of-30 performance from the free throw line didn’t aid the effort.
“We just got kind of taken to the woodshed, really,” Schaefer said. “It’s a great lesson to learn. When you’re a coach and you’ve been doing it this long you can see things like this coming. We’re still learning.”
Speaking with the media postgame Schaefer maligned his team for lacking toughness Sunday. And while the comment was meant not as a dig but a mode of inspiration, the loss and ensuing thoughts left Danberry a chance to reflect.
“I kind of take it to heart being the only senior here,” she said of Schaefer prodding for more toughness. “Being somebody that played in those big games with the past teams I feel like it’s my job to get my teammates prepared. We’re a young group and I’ve just got to lead them better to not take plays off in practice so that’s translating to the game.”
Dawg Notes
Before the game, the 2018 SEC championship team was presented with their commemorative rings. In addition to the seven remaining players on this year’s roster, former MSU standouts Anriel Howard and Jazzmun Holmes joined the team on the floor for the ceremony.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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