Video: Hail State Hoops Falls Short Of First-Ever SEC Crown

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Miss. St. Athletics) – The emotions of Senior Day and a Humphrey Coliseum crowd of 10,500 was not enough to will the No. 2 Mississippi State women’s basketball team to a Southeastern Conference championship Sunday afternoon.

Tennessee sprinted to a fast start and consistently built on the lead to take a 82-64 victory.

The victory snapped a 13-game home win streak for the Bulldogs. Tennessee improved to 19-10 overall and 10-6 in league play, while MSU fell to 27-3 and 13-3. It was the first back-to-back losses for the Bulldogs this season.

MSU was denied a chance to win a share of the conference championship. Instead, the Bulldogs will be a No. 2 seed when they open play Friday against either LSU or Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

The senior class of Breanna Richardson, Dominique Dillingham, Chinwe Okorie and Ketara Chapel were honored in pregame ceremonies. The senior class enters postseason play with 104 all-time victories.

“I am disappointed in the effort today,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. “Credit Tennessee because they have been playing well as of late. We were beaten in all the toughness categories. We were out-rebounded, out-hustled, out-toughed. That is not what our program is about.

“I wish I could shake the hands of all 10,500 people who were here today. They did their part and deserved better.”

Victoria Vivians led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Roshunda Johnson added 16 points and Morgan William added 10 points. Richardson had a team-high six rebounds.

The Bulldogs scored twice in the first two minutes before being held five minutes out without a basket. During that time, Tennessee stretched the early lead to 12-6.

The Bulldogs shot 19 percent from the floor in the first quarter and trailed 18-8 at the end of the quarter.

Tennessee quickly extended the lead to 26-9 thanks to an 8-1 run to start the second quarter. The Bulldogs were held to four field goals in the second quarter and trailed 36-20 at halftime.

From there, the Maroon and White put together a rally. The Bulldogs found some consistency on the offensive end and got a big lift from Johnson off the bench. What the Bulldogs could not find were consistent defensive stops.

The Bulldogs were down 20 twice in the third quarter. A jumper by Dillingham brought the Bulldogs within 15 at 45-30. Back-to-back treys by Johnson pulled the Bulldogs within 60-46 as the third quarter expired.

Two free throws by William had the Bulldogs within 10 at 61-51 with 8:24 left. Tennessee followed with the game’s next six points to move out of danger.

For the contest, MSU hit 22 of 60 shots from the field (36.7 percent), 4 of 10 shots from 3-point range (40.0 percent) and 16 of 22 shots from the foul line (72.7 percent). Tennessee hit 29 of 53 shots from the field (54.7 percent), 5 of 9 shots from 3-point range (55.6 percent) and 19 of 23 shots from the foul line (82.6 percent).

Tennessee held a 35-26 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had six assists and nine turnovers, while the Lady Vols had 14 assists and 13 turnovers.

Tennessee received 30 points from Jaime Nared, 20 points from Diamond DeShields and 17 points from Jordan Reynolds.