Mike Siroky’s SEC Report: Still More Conference Adjustments to Start the Season.

By Mike Siroky

 

The incredibly competitive Southeastern started its two game per week grind with exception of games postponed due to Covid. 

 

One moved up game from Jan. 24 placed two ranked teams against each other, two ranked teams were already scheduled against each other in the second set of games, so, this being the SEC, two ranked teams were scheduled to lose. 

 

Two of them also hit 10 wins, emblematic  of winning 20 if they can play on, which is the usual NCAA  elimination games standard.

 

For this year, the new magic number is 13, which gets you qualified to be taken into the field having played that many.

 

This rush to push the schedule forward is betting against a later season suspension.

 

 If there is an interruption, the league might set a minimum number of games to qualify for any post-season.

 

The same thing happened with unranked Florida moving into South Carolina to start the season.

 

Tennessee was the latest to postpone  games due to Covid contact within its organization after it played a Monday night non-conference game. 

 

So when were they aware of the positive tests? They announced the results on Tuesday.  

 

They might have played Monday with Covid-positive athletes.

 

 Or, contact positives could come as quickly as the night before, so a person could be Covid-free then contact someone with it after the game and test positive the next morning. 

 

The UT positive results postponed at least two games. A lot of rescheduling is done because no one knows how long the season will last, so let’s get any games in we can.

 

We are so dangerously close to cancelling the season again for the unranked teams and seem destined to play a 32-team national elimination.

 

Kentucky: The then-No. 10 Razorbacks had the opportunity for the first impact game of the season, heading into then- No. 13 Kentucky in the only opening game between ranked teams. It was easily the matchup of opening night.

 

With new immediate eligibilities all league coaches have a lot to adjust to .

 

 

Two Razorback starters had their immersion with the league along with probable All-American Chelsea Dungee at 18.9 points per game. Destiny Slocum brought 16.3 per game from Oregon State.  Amber Ramirez brought 11.9 from TCU Makayla  Daniels scores 13.9.

 

For UK, preseason All-American Rhyne Howard, is averaging 15.5 points per game with 6.3 rebounds per game and a team-best 15 3-pointers made.

 

The Kat trio of shooters includes Howard, but she is not the leading scorer nor necessarily the focus in the new scheme by first-year coach Kyra Elzy. 

 

This was also her welcome to the SEC as a head coach.

 

Sophomore forward Dre’una Edwards is Elzy’s breakout player, also averaging 15.5 points per game with a team-best 8.9 rebounds and eight blocks. Senior guard Chasity Patterson is averaging 15.4 points per game with a team-best 25 assists and 40 steals. Her 40 steals and 5.0 steals per game both rank No. 1 in the nation.

 

But Patterson was hampered early with two fouls.

 

Arkansas caused four turnovers early and led 10-2.

 

Like Zaay Green at Texas A&M, Jazmine Massengill is immediately eligible at Kentucky, another to flee the new coach at Tennessee.  She has played in four games, 20 minutes in this one.

 

Surprisingly, it took Arkansas several minutes to hit a 3, while UK was on a 9-2 run. But Dungee drove for three baskets, including the last two in a 18-11 quarter.

 

Arkansas was already having trouble spotting its open players as UK is a taller team and kept their arms up.

 

In the second, Howard made a layup with a minute left and it put the Kats ahead, KeKe McKinney made a layup for UK with 25 seconds left and UK had outscored Arkansas, 24-14 in the quarter mostly by eliminating 3 opportunities. 

 

Slocum made two free throws. The home team had the half, 35-34.

 

Howard had 17 points, but Patterson was scoreless. No one was in double figures for Arkansas, hitting 40 percent from the field,  3-of-10 on 3s, all the hits by Ramirez.

 

In the third, Arkansas continued failing at its specialty as UK had twice as many 3s, six. The UK lead was at five and the clock was running.

 

The second-quarter lead was holding as the fourth ticked away, still five with five minutes to go after Dungee hit a 3 off of a feed by Slocum. 

 

Patterson drained a jumper but Dungee drove again for a layup. Howard fed Blair Green for two. Slocum did the same for Erynn Barnum.

 

Less than three minutes left and someone had to blink. 

 

Green hit a 3 to push the lead to six. Slocum calmly hit two free throws. Massengill made a layup and it stayed at a six-point lead, UK with the ball and 86 seconds left.

 

The bombardiers were out of bombs. The rookie coach was about to defend her home court against the hot team.

 

Then the blink.

 

A technical foul on Neighbors in a crucial time, less than a minute left. Plus UK retains possession which led to a foul.

 

Barnum made one of two free throws.

 

KeKe Mckinney hit one of two free throws and it was suddenly a done deal. UK was winning the quarter by seven. A 3 was attempted by Arkansas.

 

If there had been a crowd allowed in Memorial Coliseum, it would have been roaring.

 

 Massengill assisted a Blair Green layup. With one second left, Barnum scored the last points, the first Arkansas basket in the final 3:19.

 

The swagger was gone from the Razorbacks, 75-64. It’s a season-low points, 27 below their average. 

Dungee scored above her average, 20. But Slocum’s 12 is below hers.

 

UK hit the 3s, not Arkansas. The Kats were 10-of-20, or twice as many made. Howard had four 3s among her 24 points. 

 

She also doubled, with 10 rebounds. She outperformed Dungee this night.

 

“They were timely,” Neighbors said. “They came up with loose balls and took us out from what they want to do. We played OK, they’re just good.

 

“They didn’t allow us to see our players. Their length took that away from us. We could see it from the bench but we were not the ones on the floor being defended. To lose to these guys on the road is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

“Howard is one of the best players in the entire country. She’s good for the conference unless you happen to be playing them that night. The complementary pieces can beat you too.”

 

“I definitely felt in rhythm,” Howard said. “I was getting a lot off good looks coming from awesome screens set by my teammates or just creating for myself. I did feel comfortable, especially with how hard we prepared for them and how well we came together at the end.

 

“Defensively, it was big for us. These past two days, all we did was pretty much focus on defense because we knew if we did our job on defense it would translate to the offensive end and we knew that we could get our shots and get points for ourselves. 

 

“And Blair, when I saw Blair open, every time, I just threw it to her, I just knew she was going to hit it. I was cheering before she even shot it. But that’s what she does. She’s going to hit those shots when we need her to hit them.

 

“I definitely do think we did wear them down a little bit because in our offense, we do a lot of movement and we were forcing them into quick shots on defense and getting them out of their game and out of control and putting the pressure on them and making sure we were controlling the pace and doing everything we needed to do. And we were making runs.

 

”We knew that they were going to look to take a lot of threes, so we were just focusing on forcing them into driving because we were going to have help. We worked a lot on one-on-one defense and making them score over us. So as long as they weren’t getting easy looks, then we were doing our job correctly.”

 

Elzy said, “Every win in the SEC is a big win. We’ve talked about it. Wins in the SEC are like gold. You have to try to protect home and go on the road and steal some. So, every win is a signature win when you play in the best league in the country, which is the SEC.

 

“I was so proud of our team. We really have practiced and challenged them with our one-on-one defense and building a wall, making people score over you and we wanted to protect the three-point line. And tonight they locked in and we did that.

 

“We’ve got to continue with the defensive intensity. We’ve got to be consistent for 40 minutes like we were today. 

 

“And there are still areas we have to improve on but I thought, consistently, we played hard for 40 minutes. Also, our offense. I thought we got stagnate at times but I was so proud of us.

 

"You know, it's still early, but our identity is still the same. We have to be one of the toughest teams, we have to be one of the most resilient teams, and we've got to continue to lay our heart on the floor on both ends, but I think we will continue to be a team. 

 

“No one is bigger than this team, and as you can see, different people have stepped up in all the games."

 

Continuing the toughest league  start was another ranked team, two rookie coaches in charge of a great rivalry. 

 

Then-No. 12 Mississippi State was originally scheduled for Jan. 24. 

 

The conference shuffle moved it ahead.

 

It is also the first meeting between two former Tennessee players as coaches, part of the Pat Head legacy.

 

Howard has chosen the SEC to up her performance as the defending conference player of the year.

 

She scored 33 – 25 after the third quarter -- and the Kats won in overtime, 92-86.

 

It took a fourth-quarter rally, 21-19 to get to the extra period.

 

The Kats missed their first three shots in the extra time. State took a four-point edge with 2:37 left.

 

 Howard hit a 3. She answered a State basket. An Edwards free throw tied it, starting six straight UK scoring possessions.

 

State has not yet formulated an end game in a failure from the previous administration.

 

Howard hit a tip shot and was fouled by Aliyah Matharu. giving her another free throw. Myah Taylor hit a shot then Edwards two free throws, Howard two more and Edwards again for one, her four throws all at the end.

 

Howard hit 9-of-10 free throws, 4-of-6 3s and had 10 rebounds with a block, her third double of the season. The points are a season best. Three others hit double figures, but it was once again her show. They hit 14-of-28 3s.

 

For State, Rickea Jackson scored 23, but she was 10-of-22 from the floor. Matharu scored 19 off the bench. Jessika Carter doubled, 14 points and 13 rebounds.

 

Her team back in the Top 10, Elzy said, ““This was a great first game., so hats off to Mississippi State.

 

“ When I grew up, Nikki McCray was my idol. She played so hard defensively. Everything that she brought to the court, I loved.

 

“She did that with her team here at Mississippi State. When I looked down and think about it now that the game is over, Coach Pat Summit would be so proud of the Lady Vol sisterhood and that we are continuing her legacy. Also, to have Kellie Jolly Harper and Nikki Fargas in the league, I know Pat is smiling down on us.

 

“We have come into the season talking all along about the depth and the versatility of this team.

 

“ One thing I love about this team is that they are willing to play team basketball. They also are willing to buy into their roles and do whatever it takes for us to win and achieve our goals. We’ve talked about it. There is one basketball. There are five positions. There are 40 minutes.

 

“Some nights it might be you. Some nights it might be someone else, and they are locked in. They want to win, so whatever that looks like. That’s how we are able to use our versatility and depth.

 

“As far as the 3 shooting, we put up a lot of shots in practice. We just try to do game speed shots and shots while we are tired. So, today, they went in. We are very thankful.”

 

On Howard’s sudden explosion,: “She showed today why she is the best player in the country, and she can take over at any time. What I love about Rhyne is that she is so gifted, but she is unselfish. She knows how to get her teammates involved and put them in scoring position.

“She has a high basketball IQ. She’s a great passer. But when it is time to take over, you know we have a great relationship, she will give me that look and call for a certain play, and we just have that connection. When it is time to make plays, we put the ball in her hands and let her do what she does best.”

 

Howard said, “In the second half, it started coming to me more. My shots started falling a bit more, so my teammates were looking at me to continue to make plays and make plays for them as well. I kept hitting, so I just kept taking them.”

 

She said any road win in the SEC is special.

 

 “Oh, it means a lot especially on the road at the Hump. It’s a very tough place to play. They’re a very tough team, so credit to them. It does give us a lot of confidence and shows us that we can compete with the teams ranked higher than us and compete with other teams who are just as good as us. We can hold our own.”

 

McCray-Penson said, “We have to grow up. I think we’re good enough. Individually, and as a team, we have to grow up. I’ve said that. If we don’t, we’ll have games like this.

 

“Down the stretch, we talked about being together and doing our own thing. I thought we did our own thing and were not together against a team that is more veteran than us. We are not a veteran team.

 

 “Everything is still new to us.

 

“We have to combat that. We did our own thing, and it cost us. We’ll regroup. We’ll watch film and break it down. There’s a lot of positives that we can take away from this game, but there are still some things that we have to continue to grow and get better.”

 

She said the faltering down the stretch may be traced to conditioning.

 

“I think that we had some people that got winded, and we lost (Howard).

 

“That comes with being a great player. She can make you forget about her, and then she just torched us. She torched us in the fourth quarter. They were right there with us. Even though she wasn’t scoring very well, I thought that we had control. Then, she took over. That’s when we have to be locked in defensively.”

 

For Kentucky, next comes the other two SEC ranked teams, at Texas A&M and then  South Carolina. 

 

It is a comparison test for the new coach replacing a legend because this is what she signed up for.  It was not originally scheduled as four straight ranked teams, but Covid shuffling caused this after UT dropped out of both UK and State.

 

South Carolina: Ole Miss became the first SEC women’s basketball team to cause a disruption in scheduling due to Covid.

 

That brought in a rescheduled Florida, then Alabama, the start of the No. 5 Gamecocks wins to  start the conference season after winning all of them last season.  

 

It finally earned them a seventh game. Florida was already 7-1, Not surprisingly it was the first of several games in which sterling non-conference records were exposed as not so much.

 

 Florida starts the league season against ranked teams, which hides the real potential of the Gators. They are never afraid. The quality of their players are not quite equal in talent or numbers to the ranked teams.

 

It was too early in the season for an upset.

 

The result was an SC win, 75-58. The Gamecocks used 10 players 8n its 13th straight win.

 

After a 6-6 start – the Gators had as many offensive rebounds as points -- they fell behind 39-18 at the break.

 

Then they kept up, more or less. As SC substituted freely, it was always a 16-point advantage.

 

  Briggs had 13 for Florida.

 

 Aliyah Boston, probably the league player of the year as the best player on the best team had 22 points with 14 rebounds for the first conference double, with three blocks and there were still minutes left in the third, which ended 66-33.

 

Zia Cooke has been told she needs to step up and run SC, after years in the sheltering shadow of a four-year starter. 

 

In this one, she responded with 20 points, four assists and two steals in the first three quarters. Florida won the third by 11.

 

So it meandered to the expected end. SC led by 10 at the end of the first quarter and by 17 at the end.

 Boston had 28 with 16 rebounds.

 

They had imposed 37 percent shooting with 21 turnovers on Florida. Lavender Briggs scored 23 for Florida.

 

Gators coach Cam Newbauer had welcomed the challenge to start his fourth SEC season.

 

 “They’re a tremendous team. with tremendous players. I wish we could have that first half back when we gave them 13 possessions. Our turnovers had too many careless turnovers.

 

“I liked our second half.”

 

Cooke said, “I had to get in the flow tonight but it did come in. I prayed before the game all I want to come in healthy and get a W tonight. We did that. We see the things we do in practice want to do it in games. It’s coming.”

 

Boston said she had stayed on campus to work on her game during the break. 

 

 

“My teammates put me in a position to be successful. I had been holding myself back. My teammates and coaches got me out of my head.”

 

Finally, Staley said, “It’s an adjustment to playing in a dead gym. When it’s 17 percent capacity, it’s hard. We need some grit. Grit is missing from this team, especially on defense.  We have things to work on.”

 

South Carolina looked for a three-game week, starting with  8-0 Alabama. The Tide had won at meaningless Missouri to start their league season. Then it’s Georgia and a matchup of ranked teams, at Kentucky.

 

 Texas A&M : The Aggies lost the chance to compete in the SEC opener against the Lady Vols and so they had but one conference game,  a 92-67 walkover at Florida.

 

 By luck of the time schedule, the No. 8 Aggies were the first to 10 wins, though Arkansas matched that later in the day. The 92-64 win was a marker in that only twice last season did A&M clear 80 in league play.

 

As has been usual, Cierra Johnson scored first for A&M, establishing the inside threat earlier.

 

 N’dea Jones claimed the first rebound on the next miss. Aliyah Wilson and then Kayla  Wells hit jumpers. Jones grabbed a defensive rebound. Florida kept pushing and tied it at seven then nine.

 

The quarter meandered to a 18-15 A&M lead when Wilson hit a 3 at the buzzer.

 

All five A&M starters had scored, Jones had seven rebounds. Leading Gator scorer Lavender Briggs (17.3) had yet to score.

 

It was 39-28 at the half, enough separation to set up the win, Jones reached her double in the third,  13 points and 15 rebounds, 12 of them defensive. 

 

Johnson also had 13 points as the quarter ended even with a 10-point edge. Briggs was a dismal 3-of-15 from the floor for nine points, her junky shooting showing she would hit her average after all in a meaningless effort.

 

A&M had never led by more than 13 until the fourth.

 

 Newcomer Jordan Nixon from Notre Dame was in her element,  4-of-5 from the floor, 1-of-1 at the line for nine, leading the team.

 

The Aggies remained in control. As they pushed the led to 22 from a four-point lead, a 23-8 run. They had 44 points in the paint, 20 for the Gators. Back-to-back Wilson 3s gave A&M four starters plus a reserve in double-figures.

 

With two minutes to go, the led was 25. The Aggies played all but one player. Jones scored 17 with 18 rebounds to lead them all. Cierra Johnson scored 15 with 10 rebounds.

 

Kristina Moore was past her average for Florida, with 16. They have lost their first two SEC efforts after a 7-1 start, the facts of playing ranked teams.

 

“It shows we wanted to come out and win today,” N’dea Jones said. “We came out and did what we wanted to do. In the SEC, you play one game. The one game you take off, you will lose.”

 

Johnson said they were not defending well in the third quarter, “So, in the fourth we wanted to be the aggressor.”

 

Nixon said it all came down to defense. “We wanted to play defense, we were excited to share the ball. We knew coming in we were not going to pitch a shutout. We just played Texas A&M basketball. If we bring it every night, we can do great stuff.”

 

Blair said, “Fourth quarter, making eight of nine 3s, it was in the flow if the offense. We were able to show what we wanted to do.

 

“Post play, doubles by both of them, you can’t ask for more. We’ll get better. We’ll clean that up.

 

“We’re not interested in winning the SEC right now, we’re interested in beating Kentucky.

 

“I want real Aggies to show up to see two Top 12 teams, not cardboard cutouts.”

 

The Aggies snuck in one more non-conference game to start the week, a runaway against Northwestern State.

 

Blair said he planned to play all 15 players regardless of the score and he did. “We need to get our feet wet before the SEC season,” he said.

 

“I’d of liked an 80-minute game but you are not allowed to do that. We rotated people in and out of this game, very fast. They happen to be the team on our schedule. This team is healthy and hungry right now.

 

“It is not a rebuilding year for us. I worry about Texas A&M. I was not interested in scoring.”

 

The Aggies hit their first eight shots to lead 20-6. Blair put in a new starting five including the debut of Green, a former McDonald’s All-American. They finished ahead by 17 at the quarter break, after Green made a steal and a jump shot at the buzzer.

 

The second quarter was more of the same. It was 63-13 at half. Blair had played 13 players, 11 had scored. Johnson led with 11. The second half was just as non-competitive. It ended 112-26.  Everyone did score.

 

Lair said this season includes avoiding Covid. 

 

The Christmas break made him hold his breath.

 

“I had one kid in Chicago, one in Atlanta one in New York one in Detroit, one in Oklahoma and one in Louisiana. My two overseas kids stayed here and the rest from Texas. Everybody passed.  Some of it is luck. Sometime you never know. Our kids did a great job of staying near their house.

 

“We were all tested before we could work out Sunday at 4.”

 

Two ranked teams await this week,  Kentucky at home and then at an anxious Arkansas.

 

Arkansas: After the Kentucky collapse ended life in the Top 10 and a six-game winning streak, the game at Missouri was a potential trap, but Neighbors disallowed it.

 

They scored 24 and are the first SEC team to 1,000 this season. 

 

At 10-2, they have the most wins and most games completed of anyone in America. They are ranked No. 13.

 

Missouri’s LaDazhia Williams is a transfer from South Carolina. She scored half of the 12-all  start, 5-of-6  at the line.

 

A little later, Arkansas had seven unanswered points, including a Chelsea Dungee 3. 

 

Makayla Daniels was 3-for-3 and Amber Ramirez matched Dungee at 2-for-4.

 

 Dungee hit another 3, then stole the ball and drove underneath to give Arkansas 8-of-9 in a stretch after and 0-of-4 start. Then Ramirez hit another 3.

 

Catch-and-shoot was in full flight. Missouri did not wilt, went on a 7-0 run, but trailed at the half, 24-23 when each side fumbled closing chances. 

 

Missouri had seven turnovers which led to 11 points. They average a league-high 17 turnovers.

 

To start the second quarter, Arkansas’  Jaylin Mason brought in a 3 off the bench. She was a three-year starter and missed last season in rehab. 

 

Then Marquesha Davis hit a 3. Arkansas by seven. Mason scored again. Dungee scored again. 

 

They forced another turnover, the Tigers’ 11th. 

 

The lead was nine with six minutes before intermission.

 

Two free throws and a 3 by immediately eligibility transfer from Auburn, Lauren Hansen, helped Missouri.

 

Makayla Williams scored for Arkansas on a coast-to-coast drive. Dungee scored, 12 already, her 15th straight game in double figures. 

 

It was Arkansas by eight within a minute to go. Arkansas inbounded to Ramirez with 1.1 seconds left and the half ended. with a 3 at the buzzer.

They played even to start the second half, 10 points apiece.

 

Missouri’s Aijah Blackwell scored seven in the quarter. 

 

A free throw made it a six-point lead. 

 

Missouri was hacking with nine fouls in the quarter. Arkansas withstood it.

 

 Missouri’s Haley Troup scored 11 in the quarter with three 3s. The Razorbacks had a seven-point lead into the fourth.

 

Arkansas was positioned to have to hit free throws to secure the win, 13-of-19 at the moment.

 

 Three Mizzou players had three fouls each, a fourth with four.

 

Arkansas’ Destiny Slocum forced a 17th turnover. 

 

Arkansas missed three straight layup chances, having missed 15 of 25 shots. 

 

Now Erynn Barnum missed  two free throws for Arkansas, the home team scoreless for three minutes in the quarter.

 

Slocum hit a 3, her 10th point of the half. Dungee followed with a 3. Daggers with 5:50 left. 

 

But this will not work against teams better than miserable Missouri, which blew a timeout and never got the shot off after.

 

Arkansas missed several shots but Ramirez got to the foul line with four minutes left. 

 

They were 37 percent from the field but 62 percent from the line. Twenty-one fouls on Missouri and eight on Arkansas. The hack defense was not working.

 

Neighbors was doing his best as a vocal third referee.

 

Barnum drove to make it a six-point lead.  Dungee hit a 3 to clear 20. 

 

She has 36 20-point career games.

 

It was 83-76 with two minutes left. 

 

They concentrated which left Mason open for two. Daniels took an elbow shot to her chest and left the court in tearful pain. No foul called.

 

A Missouri player finally fouled out. Time was almost up.

 

Missouri had 19 turnovers, Arkansas seven.

 

Dungee finished with 25 points to lead everyone, one short of her career best. 

 

The game finished with four Ramirez free throws, 91-88. 

 

She was 7-of-8 from the line.

 

While Arkansas’ first SEC win did not come easily, it did come.

 

 “We had some conversations,” said Neighbors. “We could not dwell on Kentucky, I love it that we expect to come in and win every game. But you don’t let Kentucky beat you twice.

 

“It was one reason to not take a time out (at the start). They were really good, but I thought we were really, really good in the second quarter. We are still learning to play together.

 

“It is integral if we are going to win at the foul line, to have confidence at the free throw line.

 

“They only got eight offensive rebounds. We made them go to Plan B. We got to the point where we told our kids there wasn’t enough time if we only allowed twos. I didn’t expect anything less.

 

“Our league is really, really good.”

 

Mason said, “I feel like I did a good job. You have a lot of experience at that point (endgame). That allows you to get the matchup you want. We’ve always been a very passionate ream. So it’s very hard to get ready, to fight even harder.

 

“What we did well (at the end) was switch in offense for defense, to utilize the skills we have.”

 

If Tennessee is available, that’s the first game this week. Missouri had no game in view, due to postponements.

 

Mississippi State opened with unimpressive Georgia. The scheduled Vanderbilt game was postponed due to Covid considerations and Kentucky moved in.

 

The No. 14 team looked like they were playing an unranked sisters in the conference sorority sister, even if Georgia had eight straight wins.

 

Georgia was exposed as a weak 8-0 even if State is not the team it used to be. 

 

The visitors would have won this Dogs fight by plenty under the previous coaching scheme.

 

Georgia had won 13 of 16 games, with the losses familiar to them as ranked team in the league, including State. 

 

This is the sixth straight loss to  State, Their leader, senior all-conference Jen Staiti, was in double figures 16 of the previous 17 tries. Sarah Ashlee Barker was the league's Freshman of the Week .

 

State was 3-of-4 from the field to start and 2-of-3 from the line. 

 

Jamya Mingo-Young stepped up as the early floor leader. But Jessika Carter picked up two early fouls and that changed the lineup. 

 

They went 2:33 without a basket.  

 

State held a four-point advantage with two minutes left in the quarter but Georgia tied it and then went ahead with little transition defense from State. 

 

Georgia led by two at the break, State behind for the first time all season.

 

Never before was it more obvious there had been a change in State’s administration as a game plan was MIA.

 

The second quarter saw the Bulldogs impose their will on defense, allowing but eight while scoring 14. In past seasons, a single-digit quarter usually led to a loss.

 

No one was in double figures, though Staiti had eight. Jackson’s six led State.

 

The third quarter was 21-14 State efficiency and a 49-38 lead. State should not have been threatened.

 But coaching was undynamic.

 

Carter was off the bench and advanced to 11 points.

 

 Mingo-Young  and reserve Madison Hayes also had 11 for State. Staiti had one basket in the quarter. So the double-figure thing was as insignificant as was Georgia’s 8-0 start.

 

Georgia hit its first two 3s then missed the next 12. State was 50 percent on 3s.

 

The 35-22 middle quarters were the difference in the 69-62 win.

 

Right before the end, though, they blew a 61-48 lead down to 61-55. Carter had fouled out. Staiti was up to 17 points and 11 rebounds.

 

The bailout came from freshman Hayes, 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-3s, 3-of-3 from the line.

 

Taylor said, “I think a couple of things. No. 1, Mississippi State did a really good job of packing the paint, making it hard for us to get the ball inside, and when we did get it inside, we missed some easy shots.

 

“But let’s credit Mississippi State for that. They’re a really good team. I said this earlier — they’re No. 12 in the country for a reason. Nikki has done a tremendous job, and they’re going to be really tough in our league.

 

“I think we shot too many 3s to start. We went 2-for-4 and then missed our next 10. We’ve got to be able to establish ourselves, and we didn’t do that very well to start the game.

 

“We’ve got to do some things better, but we don’t look at one game and then go to the drawing board, unless there was something really, really, really askew. We’ve got to make some shots. We’ve got to make some bunnies at the rim.”

Staiti said they got going too late.

 

“I felt like the third quarter was crucial for us to get back into the game. I don’t think we found a rhythm until the fourth quarter.”

 

McCray-Penson had survived her initial SEC battle.

 

“Madison was very calm and cool. I usually text all the players and I was going to text her last night and just say whatever but I saw her this morning and I said, ‘Just have fun today, enjoy the moment.’ She’s a player that is very intangible for us and she just really listens and grows as our team is listening and growing.

 

“It was really good for her to just step in this environment and be calm, hit some big shots and rebound.

 

“I think the biggest thing, we don’t know what (the season) is going to look like, but what we can control, we can control. We have to protect our bond, our bubble and our basketball. We’ve talked about those three things.

 

“Our kids have done a really good job of having a set of rules, and I’ve had a set of rules, and they stuck to those rules. Anytime something happens we just say, hey, we’re going to take it with a grain of salt.

 

 Every day we have to make it count because we don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, we don’t.

 

 “That’s how we’re approaching it every practice, and in everything we do, we don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. So, we have to give to today what we can give to today.

 

“Today I thought we gave. We left it all out on the floor. We’re still a team where we’re still growing and evolving and learning each other, trust and all of those things.”

 

This week, the challenge is two potential wins, Ole Miss if it is ready to start the season, and Florida.

 

A roster addition for State is a top-40 prospect in the class of 2021, guard KN’isha Godfrey. She is a  midyear enrollee, McCray-Penson announced before this week’s games.

 

"KN'isha is a very versatile, dynamic combo guard," said McCray-Penson. "She reminds me a lot of myself. She plays hard on both ends of the floor. She is strong and physical. She can shoot the ball and defend. She understands what it takes to win. She hates to lose. I am really looking forward to what she will bring to the table."

 

 A three-time player of the year out of Tampa Bay Tech High School, Godfrey signed with the Bulldogs on Nov. 13 as the eight-ranked point guard in the country. A decision on whether or not she will compete this season has yet to be made.

 

 "I am extremely excited to be a part of this program," said Godfrey. "I chose Mississippi State because of my connection with Nicki McCray-Penson and her staff. I would describe my style of play as a defensive-minded guard who enjoys pushing the tempo in transition and will do whatever is necessary to win."