PREVIEW: #14 Women’s Hoops at #7 Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In a tough top-15 battle on the road, 14th-ranked Mississippi State will take on No. 7 Texas A&M at Reed Arena on Sunday at noon.

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) on the call. The matchup can also be streamed on the MSU Radio Network with Jason Crowder.

Mississippi State (8-3, 3-2 SEC) is coming off an 86-78 setback against Alabama on Thursday night. After taking an 11-point lead into halftime, the Bulldogs were outscored 53-34 in the second half. Rickea Jackson and Myah Taylor were the leading scorers for Mississippi State, finishing with 15 points each. Jackson added five rebounds and four assists, while Taylor chipped in six assists and three steals and knocked down three 3-pointers.

Texas A&M (12-1, 4-1 SEC) enters the game on the heels of its first loss of the season. The Aggies fell on the road at LSU in overtime 65-61 on Thursday night. A&M is paced by four double-digit scorers on the season, including Aaliyah Wilson and N'dea Jones. Wilson is averaging 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Jones, who has recorded nine double-doubles this year, posts 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Winners of seven in a row in the series, State claimed last year's meeting in dramatic fashion. The Bulldogs trailed by double-digits at halftime but rallied to outscore the No. 16 Aggies 26-8 in the final frame to capture the 69-57 victory at home. Myah Taylor went off in the second half, scoring all 16 of her points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with six assists and three steals to fuel the comeback. Rickea Jackson dropped her fifth 20-point performance of SEC play and notched her second double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Bulldog Storylines

Mississippi State enters a new era during the 2020-21 campaign, as women's basketball hall of famer Nikki McCray-Penson takes the helm of the women's basketball program. The Collierville, Tenn., native boasts a decorated resume to this point in her career.
- 2017 National Championship
- 2x Olympic Gold Medalist
- 2x SEC Player of the Year
- 3x WNBA All-Star
- 1997 ABL MVP
- 1997 ABL Championship
Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, Mississippi State owns 139 wins, which is tied for the second-most victories in all of Division I. UConn leads the way with 143 wins, while Baylor also boasts 139.
With MSU being tabbed No. 14 in the most recent poll, the Bulldogs have now spent 122 consecutive weeks inside the AP Top 25, continuing the longest streak in program history and the fifth-longest active streak in the country.
During the last few years, Mississippi State has developed into one of the top scoring offenses in the nation. The Bulldogs ranked inside the top 25 in scoring during each of the last four seasons. This season, MSU ranks 33rd overall with 79.3 ppg.
State's high-scoring offense has been the result of its efficient shooting. The Bulldogs are shooting the ball at a 47-percent clip for the year, which ranks 23rd in the country and third in the SEC. From beyond the arc, MSU is knocking down threes at a .370 rate, which is 37th in the country and fourth in the SEC.
In their game against Troy, the Bulldogs broke the program record and matched the SEC record for 3-pointers made in a single game (18).
One of the most efficient posts in the country, Jessika Carter ranks 13th among active Division I players in career field goal percentage (.565). She owns 16 career double-doubles and leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg) this season.
Rickea Jackson, who was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 watch list, is averaging 16.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. The sophomore forward owns two 30-point efforts and 10 games with 20+ points during her career.
After ranking eighth in the country and leading the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (2.80) last season, Myah Taylor picked up right where she left off, boasting the nation's seventh-best assist/turnover ratio at 4.08.
Taylor has accounted for 42.8 percent of MSU's scoring this week (vs. Ole Miss, vs. Alabama) with her 25 points and 14 assists; Her assists directly led to 39 points for the Bulldogs.
On the year, MSU is outscoring opposing teams 464-212 in the paint. That's an average margin of more than 22.9 points per game and accounts for 53 percent of its total scoring this season. The Bulldogs have won the scoring battle in the paint in all 11 games this season.
A major scoring threat and huge spark off the bench for Mississippi State, Aliyah Matharu is making a strong case for SEC Sixth Woman of the Year. The sophomore guard is ranks third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game. She's shooting 48 percent from the floor and 37 percent from beyond the arc.

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."