STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball led for most of the opening 25 minutes of action against Tennessee on Thursday. However, it took just five minutes in the third quarter for the Lady Vols to take control of the game en route to a 75-64 win at Humphrey Coliseum.

Tennessee (11-6, 4-1 SEC) flipped a deficit as large as 13 in the opening half into a 12-point lead one possession into the fourth quarter. Center Tamari Key was a big reason why.

Despite averaging just 10.7 minutes per game off the bench, Key saw 29 minutes of action and was a game-best plus-14. She played 17 of the 20 second-half minutes, helping slow down a scorching-hot Jessika Carter. Key played the opening 13 minutes of the second half before finally taking a seat after Carter picked up her fourth foul.

MSU’s All-SEC forward scored 45 points across her previous two games and came out strong against UT with eight first-quarter points. However, Carter scored just four points the rest of the way.

Mississippi State (15-5, 2-3) has now dropped three of its last four meetings against Tennessee.

Mississippi State jumps out to early lead

With six different players scoring in the first quarter, Mississippi State asserted itself early en route to a 23-12 lead. The Bulldogs shot 52% from the field in the frame, had a 16-9 edge on rebounds, and scored 14 points in the paint to the Lady Vols’ four. Tennessee also made just one of its nine attempts from 3-point range.

Tennessee made a run in the second quarter after MSU built a lead as large as 13, but the game never got within six points before halftime. MSU guard Jerkaila Jordan accounted for nine of MSU’s 37 first-half points, highlighted by a step-back jumper in the second quarter.

Erynn Barnum filled the stat sheet, scoring nine of her 15 points in the first half along with eight of her 12 rebounds.

Rickea Jackson returns to Starkville

After three seasons at Mississippi State, Rickea Jackson transferred to Tennessee ahead of the 2022-2023 season. She made her return to Starkville last season where she scored 28 points in a double-overtime loss.

Her second trip back to Humphrey Coliseum wasn’t as strong. Jackson scored 19 points, but it came on 6-18 shooting. She also picked up three second-half fouls before the final media timeout, limiting her minutes across the final two quarters.

Jordan and Carter are the lone Bulldogs who overlapped with Jackson at MSU. She was recruited Vic Schaefer, stayed put for the late Nikki McCray-Penson and then entered the transfer portal with interim coach Doug Novak at the helm during the 2021-2022 season.

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What’s next on Mississippi State’s schedule?

MSU is back on the road Monday (6 p.m., SEC Network) for a game at Florida (10-6, 1-3) before a week off. The Gators are in the midst of a week off after a tough start to conference play.

UF lost its first three SEC games against South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Tennessee before beating Georgia on Sunday.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.