Mississippi State Bulldogs Had Enough Bark To Leave The Gator Women’s Basketball Team Defeated

Gainesville, FL—  On Sunday afternoon, the Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Florida women’s basketball team 76-70, handing Florida its first loss in 12 games. Florida opened up Southeastern Conference play by hosting the eighth ranked team in the country, Mississippi State. The Gators had a late rally in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to tame the Bulldogs.

Florida led early thanks to a beaming pass from Dyandria Anderson, January Miller was able to covert from behind the three-point line to give the Gators an early 3-0 lead. But, the Gators and the crowd became very familiar with Mississippi State’s Victoria Vivians and Morgan William. Vivians concluded her afternoon with a total of 14 points and four steals. The speedy, 5’5″ William ended her afternoon hitting 7 of her 14 shots to total 21 points.  The Bulldogs raced down the court and with every shot attempt, a made basket seemed to follow. As the Bulldogs went for a run and increased their lead, it seemed like the Gators were out-matched. Carlie Needles helped Florida hang around with shots from behind the perimeter but at the end of the first quarter, Florida trailed Mississippi State 21-15. The Gators trailed behind the Bulldogs for the remainder of the game.

It was a chilly and rainy Sunday in Gainesville, however the O’Dome became heated as the crowd and coaching staff grew angry with missed calls by the referees. Mississippi State had a 42-26 lead over Florida at halftime. Also by this point, the Gators had a total of 11 fouls and committed 20 turnovers. Florida’s head coach Amanda Butler says taking care of the ball needs improvement.

Since the Gators were playing catch up to the Bulldogs, Needles stepped up and entered her role as a leader. With composure and the ability to direct while in traffic, Needles displayed why she’s earned the leadership role for the Gators. Last week, against the University of Central Florida, Needles left the game with back spasms. Ironically, today was a different ball game and Needles put the team on her back; she was Florida’s leading scorer with 17 points. Needles says that the team has learned a lot from playing Mississippi State. 

The Gators were determined to make a defensive stand coming out from halftime. Back-to-back steals from Simone Westbrook got the crowd and the Gator sideline fired up. A three-pointer from Eleanna Christinaki, early in the third quarter, cut the Bulldog lead down to eight. The Gators could taste a comeback, but the Bulldogs were able to fight back and end the quarter with a 60-45 lead over Florida.

Entering the fourth quarter, intensity came from the Florida sideline and the Gators got hot. Florida was finally able to find a way to put a stop to Mississippi State’s scoring frenzy. The Gators stormed through traffic and converted all the shots they were missing earlier in the game. After a couple rebounds offensively and defensively, the Gators came chomping back.  Florida was down four points with 40 seconds left on the clock.  However, the Gators dug themselves into a deep hole that they couldn’t dig themselves out of in time.

The scoreboard showed Mississippi State defeating Florida 76-70 as the two teams met to shake hands. Amanda Butler says effort is not enough when playing in the Southeastern Conference. 

Florida had not lost a game since November 13th against Temple. The Gators currently have a record of 12-and-2 and preparing to hit the road to take on Tennessee on Thursday.