#19 Lady Vols lose to #13 Miss State for the first time ever, 65-63 in OT

Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick / Credit: Jeff Jacoby - WNML — Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick / Credit: Jeff Jacoby – WNML

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jordan Reynolds posted her first double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but No. 19/23 Tennessee fell to No. 13/13 Mississippi State, 65-63, in overtime at Humphrey Coliseum after the Bulldogs erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Thursday’s game marked the first time that Tennessee (12-8, 3-4 SEC) had ever lost to Mississippi State (18-4, 5-3 SEC). The Lady Vols were 36-0 against the Bulldogs entering the game.

In overtime, Tennessee had the ball with 17 seconds left with a chance to win or send the game into a second overtime period. Te’a Cooper drove down the lane and attempted a layup with three seconds left, but the ball bounced off the rim and Mississippi State cleared the rebound.

Reynolds’ 15 points, career-high 11 rebounds and three assists led the team. Andraya Carter and Cooper had 11 points each. Mercedes Russell added eight points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Victoria Vivians and Dominique Dillingham each had 14 points to lead Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs had a 46-42 rebounding advantage and their 20 offensive boards produced 19 second-chance points.

Down 12 points to start the fourth quarter, Morgan William caught fire with seven points and Mississippi State went on a 15-3 run to knot the game at 58-58. Victoria Vivans, whose two free throws with 1:54 left tied the game, saw her last-second 3-point attempt from the right corner bounce off the near side of the rim, sending the game into overtime.

The Lady Vols scored the first six points of the second half to start a 16-4 run that gave UT a 49-37 lead. Carter and Reynolds capitalized on mid-range shots during the run and Tennessee’s zone defense forced the Bulldogs into difficult shots. Mississippi State shot just 3-of-20 in the third quarter. Reynolds ended the third with a buzzer-beating, pull-up jumper to give Tennessee a 55-43 advantage heading into the fourth.

Reynolds hit a 3-point buzzer-beater from the right wing to tie the game at 33-33 heading into halftime. Reynolds and Te’a Cooper had eight points each as the Lady Vols shot 52 percent from the field (13-of-25) in the first half. Mississippi State star Vivians picked up her second foul midway through the second quarter, sending her to the closing minutes.

Mississippi State held a 17-16 lead following a first quarter that featured five lead changes. Both teams found success inside early on as the Lady Vols and the Bulldogs each scored 10 points in the paint.

Series vs. Mississippi State

Tennessee is now 36-1 all-time against Mississippi State and 16-1 against the Bulldogs in Starkville.
Thursday’s game marked just the seventh time that both Tennessee and Mississippi State were ranked when squaring off and the first time that the Bulldogs were ranked higher than the Lady Vols.
Thursday’s game was also the first time in the UT-MSU series that the game went to overtime.

Reynolds’ Big Night

Jordan Reynolds sparked Tennessee to victory on Thursday with her most productive game of the season, posting season highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Reynolds 15 points were her most since scoring a career-high 17 points against South Carolina on March 8, 2015.
Entering the night, Reynolds’ previous season high in scoring was nine points, which she reached twice and most recently against Kentucky on Monday.

Miscellaneous Notes

The Lady Vols are 30-16 all-time in overtime games and 13-7 in overtime games on the road.
Thursday’s game was the Lady Vols’ first overtime game since a 73-69 overtime win over Gonzaga in their NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen game on March 28, 2015.
Andraya Carter scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, marking the third time she has reached double-figures this season.
Te’a Cooper finished with 11 points, the third consecutive game she has finished in double figures and the eighth time during her freshman season.
The Lady Vols held the Bulldogs to 32.9 percent shooting, the 13th time this season UT has held someone under 40 percent shooting.
The Lady Vols held Mississippi State to 65 points in overtime, despite MSU averaging 75.6 points per game this season.
Mississippi State entered the game as the SEC’s top offensive rebounding team and the Bulldogs showed why. MSU collected 20 offensive boards.

Up Next

The Lady Vols next play Alabama (13-8, 2-6 SEC) on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game will feature a 3 p.m. ET tip-off on SEC Network.
Tennessee is 48-2 all-time against Alabama and 21-0 against the Crimson Tide in Knoxville.
Alabama fell to No. 10/10 Texas A&M, 59-56, tonight in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

-UT Athletics