Mississippi State battles back but can't get past Missouri women's basketball
COLUMBIA, Mo. - In a key game for NCAA Tournament hopes, Missouri and Mississippi State were locked in a third-quarter stalemate Sunday.
Neither team in the SEC women's basketball matchup could make a shot to propel away from the Tigers' slim four-point lead.
That is, until Missouri's Aijha Blackwell woke up its offense.
A 17-point third quarter put Missouri ahead, and Blackwell pushed the Tigers to the finish line with her 19th double-double of the season as Missouri (17-10, 6-8 SEC) ended its four-game skid with a 76-66 win over Mississippi State (15-11, 6-8).
Tied at 55 with six minutes left, Missouri made four straight shots to go up 69-62 in the final minute. From there, Blackwell and Hayley Frank iced the win with free throws.
Missouri uses 3-point shooting for lead
Missouri grabbed a comfortable lead in the first half thanks to its resurgent shooting. After struggling from the perimeter in recent games, the Tigers let it fly from 3-point range early.
That led to a 21-point first quarter for Missouri and an eight-point lead with just two minutes to go until halftime.
Blackwell, playing in her first game since being held out against Georgia last week due to a violation of the team standards, was a catalyst for the Tigers.
Reserves Kiya Dorroh and Jayla Kelly were pivotal in earning rebounds and forcing the Bulldogs to respect Missouri's post presence enough to open up kick-out passes and shots from the perimeter.
Izzy Higginbottom reemerged as Missouri's key rotational player with two 3-pointers off the bench.
It also helped Missouri that Mississippi State missed transition and breakaway layups that would've given the Bulldogs a comfortable lead going into halftime.
Mississippi State, however, didn't let the game slip too far away. The Bulldogs used a quick 6-0 run to cut the Missouri lead to just 34-32 at halftime.
Mississippi State's Charlotte Kohl made it difficult to score in the post, and Caterrion Thompson kept the Bulldogs in the game with her scoring. Thompson finished the game with 21 points. Anastasia Hayes was right behind Thompson with 14 points.
Battle in the fourth period
Mississippi State fought back in the fourth, cutting Missouri's 11-point lead to tie the game at 55 with six minutes remaining. Blackwell hit a 3 to give Missouri the lead back, and Frank followed that with a layup.
Missouri's Haley Troup knocked down a 3 to make it 63-55 with 3:53 left to force a Mississippi State timeout.
From there, Missouri closed the game and kept itself in the conversation for the postseason. When the Tigers needed it most, its biggest stars shined bright in Frank, Troup and Blackwell.
Troup finished with a quiet 16 points, while Frank had a team-high 19 points.
Missouri outrebounded the Bulldogs 37-31. Facing a size disadvantage, the Tigers didn't fold.
Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mississippi State battles back but can't get past Missouri women's basketball
