STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State lost its first nonconference home game since 2014 when Kirsten Deans made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with just over a minute left to lift West Virginia over the 10th-ranked Bulldogs 71-65 on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (8-2) hadn’t lost at home to a team outside the SEC since falling to South Florida in the WNIT six seasons ago. But they made just 15 of 30 foul shots in this defeat.
Deans scored 17 points for the Mountaineers (6-1) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup. She banked in her go-ahead shot from the wing.
Kysre Gondrezick added 16 points, Tynice Martin had 13 and Kari Niblack had 12 for West Virginia.
Mississippi State, outrebounded 51-31 in losing its previous game to Stanford, was beaten on the board 46-34 by the Moutaineers.
Jordan Danberry had 19 points and six rebounds for Mississippi State and freshman Rickea Jackson had 15 points and a season-best nine rebounds. Jessika Carter had 11 points and eight rebounds.
