GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 15 seed University of Missouri women’s basketball fell to No. 10 seed Mississippi State 75-55 in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Junior guard Ashton Judd notched 15 points in the contest including the 1,000th point of her career. Judd also contributed six rebounds and shot 50 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Senior guard Nyah Wilson added eleven points, two steals, and two rebounds.
Judd opened the game with two quick points, followed by a steal and a breakaway layup from redshirt sophomore guard Averi Kroenke. Throughout the first frame, both teams found a fast-paced play with Missouri (14-18, 3-13 SEC) answering every Mississippi State bucket.
The Tigers found an early offensive flow, putting up 20 points in the first quarter while shooting 50 percent from the field.
A deep three from Slaughter kept Missouri’s advantage, as the Tigers closed out the first quarter with a 20-18 advantage.
Judd continued to extend Missouri’s lead with two points from the charity stripe and her third 3-point conversion in the first four minutes of the second frame.
Junior guard Tilda Sjökvist extended the run by knocking down a 3-pointer of her own while sophomore forward Hannah Linthacum kept the momentum alive by drawing an offensive foul the following possession.
Senior point guard De’Myla Brown capped off the second quarter with a pull-up jumper as Missouri led 39-32 entering halftime.
The Tigers accelerated their advantage with back-to-back 3-point conversions from Kroenke and Wilson, sparking a 7-0 run early in the third quarter.
Sophomore guard Grace Slaughter contributed an additional two points in the paint off an opponent turnover to push the Missouri lead to 14, the largest of the game.
Mississippi State was able to respond with a run of its own and took the lead with just over two minutes left in the third.
Missouri entered the final frame trailing 56-47.
Despite a 44 percent field-goal performance in the first half, Mississippi State pulled away in the final 10 minutes to claim its victory.
Nine tigers scored in the contest.
The game marked the final contest for head coach Robin Pingeton at the helm of the program.
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