Lady Vols basketball can't finish job on the road, fall in double OT to Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Lady Vols had their chances to even the score with Mississippi State.

But Tennessee basketball struggled to execute plays out of timeouts – and struggled to create any rhythm offensively – turning the ball over and over throughout the game.

Mississippi State wasn't going to make it an easy game for the Lady Vols, and the holes in its defense caught up with Tennessee on Monday night. The Lady Vols gave up far too many opportunities at the rim and gave MSU too many good looks from behind the arc.

MSU outscored Tennessee in the paint 40-26 to win 91-90 in double overtime at Humphrey Coliseum. In Tennessee leading scorer Rickea Jackson's first game back where she started her career, the Lady Vols (17-9, 9-2 SEC) faltered. They turned the ball over 23 times, and MSU (16-7, 5-5) scored 21 points off them.

The Lady Vols stayed in the game thanks to free-throw shooting. Tennessee shot 37-for-44 and there were 54 total fouls called. The game was close throughout the game, and neither team had a lead larger than six points.

Jackson finished with and game-high 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. JerKaila Jordan had her way with the Tennessee defense and scored 24 points for MSU (15-8, 4-6).

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Mississippi State lethal from behind the arc

A wide-open Anastasia Hayes let a 3-pointer fly with a minute left before halftime.

The MSU guard – who started her career with Tennessee – drained it, tying the game 31-31. Neither team managed to score in the final minute, but the Bulldogs were shooting much better than Tennessee. MSU shot 50% from the field the first two quarters and went 4-for-7 from behind the arc. The Lady Vols shot 40%, and only made one of their seven 3-point attempts. MSU didn't slow down in the second, and ended up shooting 40% for eight made 3-pointers.

But Tennessee got to the free-throw line and shot a perfect 10-for-10 to keep the game in a deadlock at halftime. Most of the first half was also played without Jordan Horston, who got into foul trouble early.

Bulldogs keep Tennessee from dominating boards

Tennessee was at a stalemate with MSU after three quarters.

The Lady Vols held a slim lead of 51-49, and each team responded to every play. Neither team could get out on a run and create some separation. Both teams had 10 turnovers and the battle on the boards was tied 27-27. The Lady Vols had 24 points in the paint to MSU's 18, but the Bulldogs kept hitting 3-pointers to stay in the game.

Rebounding was where Tennessee created separation in its first win over MSU, grabbing 25 offensive rebounds to score 23 second-chance points. Tennessee managed to outrebound MSU 46-36.

Jillian Hollingshead notches first double-double of season

Sophomore forward Jillian Hollingshead has made steady progress over the last month.

She was a rebound away from recording a double-double against UConn, but on Monday she achieved her first double-double with the Lady Vols by the end of the fourth quarter. She finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and an assist and block.

Her production was key with Horston scoring only eight points and pulling down three rebounds before fouling out.

Up next

Tennessee will have a break before playing Vanderbilt (10-14, 1-9) on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) at Thompson-Boling Arena.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball falls on the road in double OT at Mississippi State