In its final home game, the Alabama women’s basketball team (11-17, 3-12 SEC) fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-10, 9-6 SEC) 71-47 on Thursday night, giving MSU its fifth straight win over the Crimson Tide.

The first time Alabama faced the Bulldogs this season, the Tide lost 77-44 in Starkville, Miss.

As the Tide’s last home game, the three seniors were honored for their hard work during their years on the basketball team. The three seniors were Dedrea Magee, Courtney Strauthers and Tamara Williams.

Magee said playing in her last home game was emotional. “This was my last time playing in Alabama, but I feel like it’s been a good experience,” she said.

Junior Alyson Butler was also honored as a senior because she won’t be returning to the team next year. For the game, Butler made three three-pointers, the only three-pointers the Tide had all game.

At the half, Alabama trailed 29-19 after a slow start to the game. The Tide struggled with shooting, making its first shot 6:30 into the game. Going into the last two minutes of the half, Mississippi State had managed to triple the Tide’s score. However, Alabama pulled it together and pulled it back to within 10 before the buzzer went off.

“The atmosphere in the locker room was okay,” head coach Wendell Hudson said. “We were correcting some things, but you could see the look in their eyes that it was just not that fire that we’ve had playing in some of the games.”

Alabama only managed to make 29 percent of its field goals taken in the first half and struggled with rebounding as well, getting outrebounded 26-18 in the half. Mississippi State scored 10 points off second-chance shots in the opening half, giving the Bulldogs their 10-point advantage going into halftime.

Junior guard Tierney Jenkins scored six points in the first half, earning her a place in the 1,000-point club. She’s the 22nd Tide member to join the club, as well as the 11th member in the club to also have 650 rebounds.

“People have been telling me about it, so it’s kind of a stress reliever,” she said. “I mean, there’s no other mark that there is to hit. This is good, and now I can just go out and play and not think about it anymore.”

In the second half, Mississippi State built a quick 8-0 run, and Alabama called a timeout to regroup. However, they were unable to catch up after the start to the half. For the game, the Tide’s field goal percentage rose just above 30, and it made only 27 percent of three-pointers. For free throws, Alabama shot about 55 percent, shooting 6-for-11.

“They did a really good job of scoring and keeping us from scoring,” Hudson said. “And then when we had open shots, we hit that drought. I thought coming out in the second half, we got started OK, and now all of the sudden it was a 20-point game, and we couldn’t get a basket.”

Next up for the Tide is Saturday against Florida in Gainesville, Fla., for the squad’s last regular season matchup. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. The SEC tournament will begin March 4.

Tide loses home finaleBy Laura OwensSports Reporter

In its final home game, the Alabama women’s basketball team (11-17, 3-12 SEC) fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-10, 9-6 SEC) 71-47 on Thursday night, giving MSU its fifth straight win over the Crimson Tide.The first time Alabama faced the Bulldogs this season, the Tide lost 77-44 in Starkville, Miss.As the Tide’s last home game, the three seniors were honored for their hard work during their years on the basketball team. The three seniors were Dedrea Magee, Courtney Strauthers and Tamara Williams. Magee said playing in her last home game was emotional. “This was my last time playing in Alabama, but I feel like it’s been a good experience,” she said.Junior Alyson Butler was also honored as a senior because she won’t be returning to the team next year. For the game, Butler made three three-pointers, the only three-pointers the Tide had all game.At the half, Alabama trailed 29-19 after a slow start to the game. The Tide struggled with shooting, making its first shot 6:30 into the game. Going into the last two minutes of the half, Mississippi State had managed to triple the Tide’s score. However, Alabama pulled it together and pulled it back to within 10 before the buzzer went off.“The atmosphere in the locker room was okay,” head coach Wendell Hudson said. “We were correcting some things, but you could see the look in their eyes that it was just not that fire that we’ve had playing in some of the games.”Alabama only managed to make 29 percent of its field goals taken in the first half and struggled with rebounding as well, getting outrebounded 26-18 in the half. Mississippi State scored 10 points off second-chance shots in the opening half, giving the Bulldogs their 10-point advantage going into halftime.Junior guard Tierney Jenkins scored six points in the first half, earning her a place in the 1,000-point club. She’s the 22nd Tide member to join the club, as well as the 11th member in the club to also have 650 rebounds.“People have been telling me about it, so it’s kind of a stress reliever,” she said. “I mean, there’s no other mark that there is to hit. This is good, and now I can just go out and play and not think about it anymore.”In the second half, Mississippi State built a quick 8-0 run, and Alabama called a timeout to regroup. However, they were unable to catch up after the start to the half. For the game, the Tide’s field goal percentage rose just above 30, and it made only 27 percent of three-pointers. For free throws, Alabama shot about 55 percent, shooting 6-for-11.“They did a really good job of scoring and keeping us from scoring,” Hudson said. “And then when we had open shots, we hit that drought. I thought coming out in the second half, we got started OK, and now all of the sudden it was a 20-point game, and we couldn’t get a basket.”Next up for the Tide is Saturday against Florida in Gainesville, Fla., for the squad’s last regular season matchup. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. The SEC tournament will begin March 4.