State Drops Matchup At Texas A&M, 69-41

Sunday, January 17

Bryan-College Station, Texas

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

8-4,3-3SEC

#7 Texas A&M

13-1,4-1SEC

Mississippi St.

Texas A&M

State Drops Matchup At Texas A&M, 69-41

January 17, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – From the start of the game, Mississippi State never got into rhythm on the road against Texas A&M, falling to the seventh-ranked Aggies 69-41 at Reed Arena on Sunday.

"First of all, we just did not play well tonight at all," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "From the start, we knew that they were going to change defenses against us. We've been working against it. We just acted like we didn't know what was happening. We didn't play well. It is that simple. Just didn't have the sense of urgency to come out and execute what we talked about."

After a slow start to the game, Mississippi State (8-4, 3-3 SEC) struggled to get going on offense, shooting just 27 percent (15-of-56) from the field. On the other end of the floor, A&M finished the game with 44 percent shooting. The Aggies dominated the paint, outscoring MSU 34-18 and outrebounding the Bulldogs 43-36. A&M's defense forced State into 17 turnovers, which the Aggies converted into 22 points.

Texas A&M (13-1, 5-1 SEC) led the entire game and jumped out to a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter. State cut it to a two-possession game to open the third period, but the Aggies pulled away with a 12-2 run in quarter.

The Bulldogs finished with a pair of double-digit scorers. Myah Taylor posted a team-high 14 points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals, while Rickea Jackson added 11 points and four boards.

Texas A&M dominated the first quarter, outscoring MSU 14-3 in the period. The Aggie defense held State to just 1-of-13 shooting from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. MSU was plagued by turnovers in the frame, giving up the ball five times with it leading to eight points for A&M.

State slowly started to claw back into the game during the second stanza, knocking down four 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 26-19 going into halftime. Taylor scored 11 points in the period to fuel the offense. Defensively, MSU didn't allow the Aggies to record a basket during the final 3:07 of the quarter and held them to 32 percent shooting for the half.

A 12-2 run by Texas A&M during the middle of the third quarter opened the game up. The Aggies shot 56 percent from the field and outscored MSU 24-12 in the period to take a 50-31 lead into the final frame. A&M extended its advantage in the fourth quarter and cruised to the wire-to-wire victory.

Up next, Mississippi State has an 11-day break in its schedule before hosting South Carolina for a home matchup in Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 28. The game will tip at 6 p.m. and will be national televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.

For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."