Rally Falls Short; Mustangs Edged By No. 9 Mississippi State

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Edged By No. 9 Mississippi State Despite Second-Half Surge
SMU outscored Mississippi State in the second half, 31-26; allowed only seven fourth quarter points

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (SMU) – The SMU women’s basketball team out-scored No. 9 Mississippi State in the second half, 31-26 and allowed only seven fourth quarter points, but the effort fell short as the SMU women’s basketball team was edged 72-70 Monday afternoon at Rubén Zayas Montañez Coliseum. The SMU defense held the Bulldogs’ offense to just three field goals on 15 attempts in the final 10 minutes.

Trailing by 13, 62-49, with two minutes left in the third quarter, the Mustangs found a late run, scoring five unanswered points to come within eight, 62-54. The Bulldogs responded in the final 30 seconds making a free throw and a layup to stretch the lead to 11 and take a 65-54 lead into the fourth quarter. SMU (5-6) found a spark early in the fourth quarter, going on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three, 65-62. After trading jumpers, the Bulldogs (11-1) expanded their lead to five, but Adams led the Mustangs on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to one, 71-70. Mississippi State managed a free throw to take a 72-70 lead in the final seconds, before shutting down the Mustangs on the final possession.

McKenzie Adams led all scorers with 21 points and nine rebounds. The Arkansas transfer finished 5-of-12 from the field, while making 11-of-13 free throw attempts. Gabrielle Wilkins went 6-of-14 from the field, finishing with 14 points, while grabbing five rebounds. Alicia Froling was a point shy of a double-double, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Stephanie Collins was a point and rebound shy, scoring nine points with nine rebounds.

After being out-scored 31-21 in the opening 10 minutes, the Mustangs adjusted in the second quarter and out-scored the Bulldogs 18-15. Trailing 46-35 with 1:49 remaining in the half, Keely Froling led the Mustangs to four unanswered points, using a jumper and two free throws to cut the deficit to seven. The Bulldogs attempted a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to double-digits, but Adams shutdown the threat with a clutch block to hold onto the single-digit deficit, 46-39, at halftime.

SMU shot 75 percent from the free throw line, 21-of-28, while shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 24-of-59. Mississippi State made 29-of-74 field goals, 39.2 percent, but made 6-of-15 from behind the arc to give the Bulldogs the advantage on the scoreboard.

The SMU women's basketball team returns to action in 2016, opening conference play at Tulsa, Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. CT. This will be the 41st meeting all-time between the two teams with SMU leading the series, 25-15. The game can be seen on The American Digital Network.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

We had so many chances down the stretch!

Nice tournament overall though.