In front of a sold-out crowd in Starkville, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team found a massive 77-73 win over No. 9 LSU on Monday night.
After trailing 40-35 at halftime, the Lady Bulldogs (17-5, 4-3 SEC) went on a 28-17 run to take a 63-57 lead with one quarter remaining. The Tigers (18-4, 5-3), winners of last year’s NCAA championship, didn’t go down easy as they pulled within three with 1:32 left. That’s when DePaul transfer Darrione Rogers hit arguably the biggest shot of the season to retake a six-point lead as Mississippi State was able to milk the clock and hit free throws to close out the contest.
DARRIONE ROGERS. THAT MIGHT BE THE DAGGER. pic.twitter.com/pBHSlNUdVi
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) January 30, 2024
“This will be one I never forget,” Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell said after the game. “I don’t want to go to sleep. It’s like Christmas.”
And Christmas is annual. This win for the Lady Bulldogs was the first of its kind in nearly four years as they hadn’t knocked off an AP Top 25 team since March 2020 against then-No. 16 Kentucky.
Purcell’s squad was able to overcome a 20-point, 18-rebound performance by LSU forward Angel Reese to get the big win. On defense, they held star guard Hailey Van Lith – a former player of Purcell’s during his time as an assistant at Louisville – to four points.
Sam Purcell reconnects with Hailey Van Lith pregame — who he coached at Louisville pic.twitter.com/iZdgtEkvRD
— Grace Ybarra (@gnybarra) January 30, 2024
Leading the way for Mississippi State was JerKaila Jordan, who scored 15 of her 24 points during the team’s second-half outburst. Rogers finished with 19 points and Mjracle Sheppard added 12.
Next up for the Lady Bulldogs will be a Thursday night contest at Kentucky.
