Thursday, December 15
Starkville
7:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Florida A&M
WBK Preview: vs Florida A&M
December 14, 2022 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State women's basketball team will close out the home portion of its non-conference schedule Thursday night when they welcome Florida A&M to Humphrey Coliseum.
GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State (8-2) vs. Florida A&M (2-6)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 15 // Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Miss. (Humphrey Coliseum)
Watch: SEC Network+ (Talent: Bart Gregory & Charlie Winfield)
Listen: MSU Radio Network (Play-By-Play: Jason Crowder)
Numbers To Know
499 • After dishing out 10 assists against Texas A&M-Commerce, Anastasia Hayes is one assist shy of 500 in her career. When she reaches 500 career assists, she will be one of just 14 active players with 500 assists in a career
1K • We have a pair of Bulldogs getting closer to 1,000 career points. Jessika Carter enters Thursday 48 points shy of becoming the 28th member of the 1,000-point club at MSU. JerKaila Jordan is just 35 points shy of 1,000 in her impressive career. She has scored 515 at MSU and 450 at Tulane
10 • Mississippi State has one of the best defenses in the country. They rank 4th nationally in Blocks per game (6 .6) & FG% defense (31 .7%); they ranked 6th in Scoring defense (50 .6) & 10th in steals per game (13 .1) . MSU ranks in the top 10 in 4 separate defensive categories
10 • JerKaila Jordan leads the stifling Bulldog defense in steals with 24. She's one of 7 Bulldogs with at least 10 steals already. Joining Jordan is Asianae Johnson (20), Debreasha Powe (17), Ahlana Smith (17), Anastasia Hayes (16), Denae Carter (11) and Ramani Parker (10)
Series History
• The series history is tied at one game each, but Mississippi State leads 1-0 when the game is played in Starkville.
• The last time MSU and FAMU played was on
Bulldog Takeaways
• The defense has been exceptional so far this season. State is allowing opponents to score just 50.6 points per game, the 6th best scoring average in the country and the 2nd best in the SEC.
• State is holding opponents to just 32% shooting on the year, 4th best mark in the NCAA.
• MSU is blocking everything in sight this season. They rank 4th nationally in blocks per game at 6.6 per contest.
• Against MVSU, MSU shot 66.1% from the field. It's the second-highest shooting percentage by any D1 team in any game this season. Also, the best single-game field goal percentage at MSU since at least the 2006-07 season.
• MSU is 1 of 10 teams in the country to have recorded at least 11 blocked shots in a single game
• Mississippi State has been causing havoc on the defensive end all season and already has seven players with at least 10 steals. Leading the way is JerKaila Jordan with 24 and Asianae Johnson with 20.
• State ranks 10th nationally, and 1st in the SEC in steals per game at 13.1
2023 Signing Class
• The early signing period ended on Wednesday, with Mississippi State signing four players for the 2023-24 season. The class was ranked as high as 16th nationally following the signing of Quanirah Cherry-Montague but should climb with the addition of junior college star Meloney Thames.
• Quanirah Cherry-Montague (Atlantic City, N.J.) – rated as a 4-star recruit and the No. 48 player in the nation
• Jasmine Powell (Joliet, Ill.) – rated as a 4-star recruit and the No. 54 player in the nation
• Mjracel Sheppard (Bellevue, Wash.) – rated as a 4-star recruit and the No. 86 player in the nation
• Meloney Thames (Choctaw, Miss.) – Junior College All-American, Second in the nation in scoring (26.3 ppg)
Get-To-Know Florida A&M
• Florida A&M enters Thursday's contest with a record of 2-6.
• They won their last game vs Tuskegee 77-75 on Monday.
• Shalon Pillow coaches FAMU. She is in her third season with the Rattlers.
• The Rattlers are led by Dylan Horton, averaging 17.9 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per contest.
Marketing
• Pregame photos with Santa
• 300 Home Alone inspired t-shirts
• Santa will read Night Before Christmas at halftime
• Other various Christmas theme promotions during timeouts inspired by the hit movie Home Alone
Up Next
Mississippi State will travel to Tampa, Fla., to close out its non-conference schedule. While in Tampa, the Bulldogs will play Old Dominion on Monday, Dec. 19, and New Mexico on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Both games will start at 12 p.m. CT. Streaming of the game will be on BallerTV. No link has been provided at this time.
For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."
GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State (8-2) vs. Florida A&M (2-6)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 15 // Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Miss. (Humphrey Coliseum)
Watch: SEC Network+ (Talent: Bart Gregory & Charlie Winfield)
Listen: MSU Radio Network (Play-By-Play: Jason Crowder)
Numbers To Know
499 • After dishing out 10 assists against Texas A&M-Commerce, Anastasia Hayes is one assist shy of 500 in her career. When she reaches 500 career assists, she will be one of just 14 active players with 500 assists in a career
1K • We have a pair of Bulldogs getting closer to 1,000 career points. Jessika Carter enters Thursday 48 points shy of becoming the 28th member of the 1,000-point club at MSU. JerKaila Jordan is just 35 points shy of 1,000 in her impressive career. She has scored 515 at MSU and 450 at Tulane
10 • Mississippi State has one of the best defenses in the country. They rank 4th nationally in Blocks per game (6 .6) & FG% defense (31 .7%); they ranked 6th in Scoring defense (50 .6) & 10th in steals per game (13 .1) . MSU ranks in the top 10 in 4 separate defensive categories
10 • JerKaila Jordan leads the stifling Bulldog defense in steals with 24. She's one of 7 Bulldogs with at least 10 steals already. Joining Jordan is Asianae Johnson (20), Debreasha Powe (17), Ahlana Smith (17), Anastasia Hayes (16), Denae Carter (11) and Ramani Parker (10)
Series History
• The series history is tied at one game each, but Mississippi State leads 1-0 when the game is played in Starkville.
• The last time MSU and FAMU played was on
Bulldog Takeaways
• The defense has been exceptional so far this season. State is allowing opponents to score just 50.6 points per game, the 6th best scoring average in the country and the 2nd best in the SEC.
• State is holding opponents to just 32% shooting on the year, 4th best mark in the NCAA.
• MSU is blocking everything in sight this season. They rank 4th nationally in blocks per game at 6.6 per contest.
• Against MVSU, MSU shot 66.1% from the field. It's the second-highest shooting percentage by any D1 team in any game this season. Also, the best single-game field goal percentage at MSU since at least the 2006-07 season.
• MSU is 1 of 10 teams in the country to have recorded at least 11 blocked shots in a single game
• Mississippi State has been causing havoc on the defensive end all season and already has seven players with at least 10 steals. Leading the way is JerKaila Jordan with 24 and Asianae Johnson with 20.
• State ranks 10th nationally, and 1st in the SEC in steals per game at 13.1
2023 Signing Class
• The early signing period ended on Wednesday, with Mississippi State signing four players for the 2023-24 season. The class was ranked as high as 16th nationally following the signing of Quanirah Cherry-Montague but should climb with the addition of junior college star Meloney Thames.
• Quanirah Cherry-Montague (Atlantic City, N.J.) – rated as a 4-star recruit and the No. 48 player in the nation
• Jasmine Powell (Joliet, Ill.) – rated as a 4-star recruit and the No. 54 player in the nation
• Mjracel Sheppard (Bellevue, Wash.) – rated as a 4-star recruit and the No. 86 player in the nation
• Meloney Thames (Choctaw, Miss.) – Junior College All-American, Second in the nation in scoring (26.3 ppg)
Get-To-Know Florida A&M
• Florida A&M enters Thursday's contest with a record of 2-6.
• They won their last game vs Tuskegee 77-75 on Monday.
• Shalon Pillow coaches FAMU. She is in her third season with the Rattlers.
• The Rattlers are led by Dylan Horton, averaging 17.9 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per contest.
Marketing
• Pregame photos with Santa
• 300 Home Alone inspired t-shirts
• Santa will read Night Before Christmas at halftime
• Other various Christmas theme promotions during timeouts inspired by the hit movie Home Alone
Up Next
Mississippi State will travel to Tampa, Fla., to close out its non-conference schedule. While in Tampa, the Bulldogs will play Old Dominion on Monday, Dec. 19, and New Mexico on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Both games will start at 12 p.m. CT. Streaming of the game will be on BallerTV. No link has been provided at this time.
For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."
– HailState.com –
Players Mentioned
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