Mississippi State women's basketball falls at Notre Dame, eliminated from March Madness

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Mississippi State women's basketball has seen both sides of what March Madness has to offer. As an 11-seed, MSU took down fellow 11-seed Illinois to crack the field of 64 and followed it up with an upset of 6-seed Creighton.

Behind first-year coach Sam Purcell, the Bulldogs saw the thrill that comes with college basketball's most prestigious tournament. However, in a 53-48 loss against host and 3-seed Notre Dame on Sunday, Mississippi State saw the other side of March.

Heartbreak.

Despite a valiant effort on the defensive end against an Irish squad without its best player Olivia Miles, Mississippi State (22-11) was sent home before the second weekend.

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Notre Dame takes sluggish first half

Fans hoping for a fast start tuned into the wrong game as the first half was a defensive battle. Notre Dame (27-5) closed the period on a 4-0 run to take a 26-23 lead into the break despite shooting 32.3%.

MSU missed all eight of its 3-point attempts in the first half and didn’t get a shot to fall from beyond the arc until early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had just three assists in the opening 20 minutes, shot 30% and missed five of its 10 free throws.

Mississippi State struggles from deep

Creighton’s coaches, after losing to Mississippi State in the first round Friday, were likely watching in shock. After hitting 11 3-pointers against the Bluejays, the Bulldogs shot 3-of-20 from deep.

In its 10-point third quarter, MSU missed all five of its attempts – helping Notre Dame pull away. The Irish started the period on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to double figures and maintained a safe distance throughout the quarter.

However, a layup at the buzzer from freshman Debreasha Powe cut the deficit to eight and gave MSU a spark of momentum heading into the fourth. The Bulldogs capitalized, using a 10-0 run to tie the game before the fourth quarter media timeout.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State women eliminated from March Madness vs. Notre Dame