Jerkaila Jordan’s career night spoiled with Missouri buzzer-beater
Mississippi State went on the road on Monday night and handed Missouri its first SEC win in a calendar year.
A Jerkaila Jordan turnover in the final seconds led to Missouri getting a last second prayer from Grace Slaughter and she sunk a hook shot from the baseline at the buzzer for the 78-77 win. It gave the Bulldogs a massive scar on its tournament resume with the Tigers getting their first win over an opponent not in the Quad IV.
“Just heartbroken for us to come from the Auburn game when our kids played unbelievable,” coach Sam Purcell said. “For our kids to play new positions against a team that spreads you out, I’m proud of them for that.”
Jordan’s career night not enough against winless Mizzou
It was a frustrating loss for a State team that got the best game from Jordan’s career. The senior scored 40 points and became the first Bulldog to hit that milestone since Rickea Jackson in 2021 against McNeese State. Jordan shot 13-of-21 from the field and 5-of-9 from three, but 9-of-17 free throws might have been the biggest misstep as free throws loomed large.
Missouri hit 20-of-23 from the foul line in the game while the Bulldogs were just 14-of-24. State shot 45% from the field and made 7-of-19 3-pointers while Mizzou shot 42% and was 8-of-21.
“For them to shoot 23 free throws, it was just an ugly game,” Purcell said. “When it gets ugly, advantage Mizzou.”
The Bulldogs were leading 77-73 with just over 1 minute remaining but Mizzou hit a 3-pointer to close the lead and then got the turnover with 15 seconds left. Slaughter would dribble it out herself and then find the goal on a desperation shot over a State defender.
Slaughter had a career game as well with 31 points on 10-of-21 and made 8-of-8 from the line with six rebounds. Laniah Randle and Ashton Judd also score in double figures with 14 each.
State won the rebounds 41-34 and kept the turnovers down with just 12. Six of those turnovers came in the first quarter so the Bulldogs played more under control the rest of the way, but the Tigers did score 15 points off of those turnovers while State got eight points on 10 forced turnovers.
Along with Jordan in double figures was Denim Deshields scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and she had four assists to just one turnover in 30 minutes. After scoring double figures just once before last week, Deshields has now had back-to-back double digit performances with 11 assists and one turnover.
Madina Okot finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds as she notched a double-double.
Up Next
With that heartbreaking loss, State now has to regroup to play a top 5 LSU team on the road on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs (16-6, 3-5 SEC) were without a key reserve in Destiney McPhaul who is dealing with an illness and Debreasha Powe was also sick but played through it on Monday. The team will have a chance to heal up before taking on one of the best teams in the country.
“We talked about weathering the storm so obviously we have to get healthy and get back,” Purcell said. “Our kids are heartbroken in the locker room because they wanted to get this bad. Our defense wasn’t good enough.”
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