Tennessee saw its seven-game undefeated streak end in ugly fashion, falling 77-62 to Mississippi State at home. The Lady Vols (14-4, 6-1 SEC) seemingly overlooked the Bulldogs (16-6, 3-5) ahead of their matchup against No. 1 UConn, never looking competitive. 

Mississippi State got its revenge for its 90-80 loss against Tennessee earlier this season, winning its fourth-ever matchup in Knoxville. 

“I have a ton of respect for Tennessee,” Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell said. “This is a historical building. I started off as a (graduate assistant) here for Pat Summitt, so I have a lot of respect for women’s basketball here, and the crowd was phenomenal.”

The first quarter could be summed up by one sequence. Freshman Deniya Prawl drove to the basket, got fouled, then missed both free throws. Mya Pauldo grabbed the offensive rebound, kicked it to Prawl, who missed and was fouled again. She missed both of her ensuing free throws, both of which bounced off the rim. 

The rest of the Lady Vols also looked like a team that hadn’t played in a week. They shot 6-for-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from the 3-point line, scoring just 12 points through the first 10 minutes.

Luckily for Tennessee, the Bulldogs looked even worse. They shot 3-for-10 and 1-for-4 from range, turning the ball over an astounding 11 times as well. They managed nine points and Tennessee held a three-point lead heading into the second quarter.

After a short break, the second frame sang a different note.

The jetlagged Bulldogs quickly responded by outscoring the Lady Vols 26-14, taking a nine-point lead at halftime. Mississippi State shot a solid 10-for-19 and 5-for-9 from the 3-point line, making its last three shots to take a 9-0 run into the half. 

Tennessee followed up its poor first quarter with a 5-for-16 performance from the field and 1-for-4 from range. Senior Janiah Barker shot an inefficient 2-for-7 from the floor but made three free throws to lead Tennessee with eight second-quarter points.

The Bulldogs took a 35-26 lead at halftime behind their 26-point second frame. Redshirt junior Talaysia Cooper had 10 points, but four first-half turnovers hindered her stat line. Freshman Mia Pauldo notably played just seven minutes, her lowest of conference play after picking up two early fouls.

“I told them halfway through the second that I need my team to show back up,” Caldwell said. “Where’s my team? Because this is the old team, and we can’t continue to move like this.”

Heading into the second half down nine points, Tennessee needed to get anything going offensively if they had a chance of staying in the game. 

However, that chance would slip further away with every tick off the game clock.

The Bulldogs drilled three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the half to push the lead to 11. Four minutes later, that lead would be out to 20. A late 3-pointer by Cooper gave Tennessee a small moral victory, but not much more than that.

Through the first three quarters, Tennessee shot a pitiful 30% from the field, making just 16 of its 54 attempts. The free-throw line was another issue, as the Lady Vols shot 7-for-15 from the stripe.

The final 10 minutes of the game were uneventful. Tennessee managed to score 20 points in the final frame, its most of the night. Mia Pauldo scored nine of the 20 points, the Lady Vols’ lone bright spot of the outing.

Though Tennessee outscored Mississippi State in the final frame, a 17-point deficit would be too much to handle. The Bulldogs emerged victorious, winning 77-62 to even the season series.

“I don’t know that we gave up,” Caldwell said. “I don’t think we ever showed up.”

After a tough loss, Tennessee’s tough schedule looms. The Lady Vols will travel to Hartford, Connecticut, to face No. 1 UConn on Sunday, Feb. 1. Following that game, three of their next four opponents are all ranked in the AP Top 25.