Missouri women’s basketball fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 70-53 Monday in Starkville, Mississippi.
The loss puts Mizzou’s five-game winning streak to rest, which was the longest in the conference and in Missouri’s Southeastern Conference history.
After two days without practice as a result of a rough travel schedule, the Tigers simply shot poorly. They went 33 percent from the field compared to 44 percent for the Bulldogs. The Tigers hit just four 3-pointers on 19 shots from beyond the arc for 21 percent shooting from deep.
The ultimate eye sore on the stat sheet for Missouri came from turnovers. The Tigers committed 29 of them, which the Bulldogs converted into 35 points. In contrast, Mizzou only made two points off of the Bulldogs’ eight turnovers.
Mizzou’s trend of consistently starting games strong did not continue in Starkville. The Tigers trailed behind Mississippi State the entire first quarter, and they hung in there mostly due to sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham, who scored a team-high 19 points.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs had a 15-5 run, which gave them a nine-point lead at halftime. The Tigers then went on a seven-minute scoring drought in the third quarter, giving Mississippi State a double-digit advantage. In the end, the Tigers couldn’t catch back up.
Despite the loss, Mizzou outrebounded Mississippi State, and the freshman trio of Amber Smith, Jordan Chavis and Jordan Roundtree chipped in 19 points. Amber Smith’s eight-point performance comes after winning SEC Freshman of the Week last week.
**Next up:** Missouri faces Tennessee on the road Thursday.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_