STARKVILLE — Mississippi State isn’t quite in panic mode, but it’s getting close.
After being run off the floor by No. 4 South Carolina Thursday, the MSU women’s basketball team has dropped three consecutive games and sit below .500 in Southeastern Conference play for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
Let’s call Sunday what it was: downright ugly. The Bulldogs were bullied on their home floor after an inspired first quarter. MSU shot a combined 5 of 15 from the floor over Thursday’s second frame as South Carolina sprinted out to a 12-0 run that broke the game open. As pressing, the Bulldogs were out-rebounded 51-38, marking the sixth time in seven SEC games they’ve been beaten on the boards.
“They’re going to do what they do,” head coach Nikki McCray-Penson said of South Carolina following the loss. “And they did that tonight. They rebounded. They pushed tempo and that’s what they did.”
But as disastrous as Thursday’s throttling in Starkville was, there is some reason for optimism. Over the next week-and-a-half, MSU meets No. 20 Tennessee and No. 19 Arkansas — fresh off an upset of No. 3 UConn — with a chance to charge back toward the top of the conference and all-but secure a bid to the NCAA tournament assuming the Bulldogs take care of business down the stretch.
After games against the Volunteers and Razorbacks, the Bulldogs’ schedule becomes more manageable. Of MSU’s final five opponents, only Alabama and LSU have a record above .500, though the Tigers have been beatable. Matchups with SEC cellar-dwellers Auburn, Missouri and — rivalry game aside — Ole Miss, should give MSU a chance to string together some victories heading into the SEC tournament.
But for a Bulldog squad that is reeling after back-to-back 20-plus point losses, something has to change. For one, sophomore forward Rickea Jackson has to find her footing earlier in games. Having been relegated to the bench to start two of the past three games, Jackson has been slow in early periods of late. She finished Thursday’s loss to South Carolina with 15 points, but started the contest 1 of 7 from the floor. Jackson also hasn’t eclipsed 16 points in a game — a smidge above her 15.8 points per game average — since a Jan. 3 meeting with Kentucky.
“I feel like we executed our plays,” she said after the Kentucky loss of how she was able to get clicking offensively. “We were just playing hard and we just had that mentality that we need to do what we have to do to win this game. I feel like my teammates are just trusting me by getting me the ball and I’m trusting them and looking for them open.”
Jackson and junior forward Jessika Carter, who’s had her own set of issues against competent competition in recent weeks, could also stand to find some help on the offensive end. Sophomore JaMya Mingo-Young has been a sparkplug in spurts during her year-plus in the program, but played one of the worst games of her career against the Gamecocks — finishing with five points, two rebounds and three turnovers in 25 minutes played.
Junior forward/center Sidney Cooks has been similarly unreliable outside of a 26-point outburst against Troy. In 13 games played this year, Cooks has hit double-digits just once, while her 38.4 percent shooting percentage is the lowest of any player on the roster who’s appeared in six or more contests.
There have, of course, been some bright spots. Junior point guard Myah Taylor continues to show a renewed offensive ability as she’s turned in four-straight double-digit scoring performances for the first time in her career. Five-star freshman Madison Hayes also has been an energetic bright spot after being inserted into the starting lineup in MSU’s past three games.
Sitting at 8-5 and 3-4 in SEC play, it’s expected MSU will drop out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in 124 weeks when the poll is released Monday afternoon. But for a team that after Thursday’s loss to South Carolina felt like it might be in a free fall, there are opportunities ahead to right the ship in McCray-Penson’s first year.
“It doesn’t feel good to be on a three-game losing streak,” McCray-Penson said. “But these are all things that we can correct.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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