Sunday, January 10
Starkville
5:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Ole Miss
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
PREVIEW: #14 Women’s Hoops vs. Ole Miss
January 09, 2021 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – With 13-consecutive wins in the series, No. 14 Mississippi State hosts in-state rival Ole Miss for a 5 p.m. tip on Sunday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
The game will be televised on SEC Network with Tiffany Greene (play-by-play) and Steffi Sorensen (analyst) on the call. The matchup can also be streamed on the MSU Radio Network with Jason Crowder.
Doors will open one hour before tip. Fans who plan to attend the game are encouraged to review the Mississippi State Gameday Guidelines.
Mississippi State (7-2, 2-1 SEC) enters the game on the heels of a 68-56 victory at Florida on Thursday night. Jessika Carter posted her fifth double-double of the season, dropping 25 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in the contest. Rickea Jackson finished with 16 points and four rebounds while recording career highs in assists (5) and steals (4). The All-SEC duo accounted for 60 percent of MSU's total points in the game (41 of 68).
Ole Miss (7-1, 1-1 SEC) is one of the most improved teams in the country. The Rebels lead the SEC in assists per game (19.2), scoring defense (53.1), scoring margin (27.2) and turnovers forced (22.5). With a heavy emphasis on defense, Ole Miss ranks second in the league in field goal percentage defense (.325) and steals per game (11.9). Junior forward Shakira Austin is the best player for the Rebels, doing it all with 19.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.6 steals and 1.4 assists per game.
State defeated the Rebels in both meetings last year. The Bulldogs capped the regular season with an 84-59 win on the road against Ole Miss. Aliyah Matharu scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 from the field and knocked down a career-best five 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds, two steals and an assist in just 19 minutes of action. The performance earned her SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
Bulldog Storylines
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."
The game will be televised on SEC Network with Tiffany Greene (play-by-play) and Steffi Sorensen (analyst) on the call. The matchup can also be streamed on the MSU Radio Network with Jason Crowder.
Doors will open one hour before tip. Fans who plan to attend the game are encouraged to review the Mississippi State Gameday Guidelines.
Mississippi State (7-2, 2-1 SEC) enters the game on the heels of a 68-56 victory at Florida on Thursday night. Jessika Carter posted her fifth double-double of the season, dropping 25 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in the contest. Rickea Jackson finished with 16 points and four rebounds while recording career highs in assists (5) and steals (4). The All-SEC duo accounted for 60 percent of MSU's total points in the game (41 of 68).
Ole Miss (7-1, 1-1 SEC) is one of the most improved teams in the country. The Rebels lead the SEC in assists per game (19.2), scoring defense (53.1), scoring margin (27.2) and turnovers forced (22.5). With a heavy emphasis on defense, Ole Miss ranks second in the league in field goal percentage defense (.325) and steals per game (11.9). Junior forward Shakira Austin is the best player for the Rebels, doing it all with 19.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.6 steals and 1.4 assists per game.
State defeated the Rebels in both meetings last year. The Bulldogs capped the regular season with an 84-59 win on the road against Ole Miss. Aliyah Matharu scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 from the field and knocked down a career-best five 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds, two steals and an assist in just 19 minutes of action. The performance earned her SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
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 138 wins, which is the third-most victories in all of Division I. UConn leads the way with 142 wins, while Baylor boasts 139.
- With MSU being tabbed No. 14 in the most recent poll, the Bulldogs have now spent 121 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 28th overall with 81.6 ppg.
- State's high-scoring offense has been the result of its efficient shooting. The Bulldogs are shooting the ball at a 48-percent clip for the year, which ranks 20th in the country and third in the SEC. From beyond the arc, MSU is knocking down threes at a .369 rate, which is 37th in the country and third 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 14th among active Division I players in career field goal percentage (.570). She owns 16 career double-doubles and leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg) this season.
- Rickea Jackson, who is a National Player of the Year candidate, is averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 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. The redshirt junior guard currently boasts the nation's seventh-best assist/turnover ratio at 4.38.
- MSU's 2020-21 roster boasts three McDonald's All-Americans in Rickea Jackson, Sidney Cooks and Madison Hayes.
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."
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