Mississippi State Concludes Non-Conference Slate With Mississippi Valley State

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women's basketball hosts in-state Mississippi Valley State for its final non-conference contest on Thursday inside Humphrey Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State (12-2) vs. Mississippi Valley State (1-10)
Date: Friday, Dec. 29 | Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Miss. (Humphrey Coliseum - 9,100)
Watch: SEC Network+ (Talent: Charlie Winfield and Bart Gregory)
Listen: MSU Radio Network - Starkville 96.1 (Play-By-Play: Jason Crowder)

Fans not in attendance can follow action on SEC Network+ or through their affiliate radio station with play-by-play talent Jason Crowder. Live statistics throughout the contest will be available at MSU.Statbroadcast.com.

Friday will be the 22nd overall meeting between Mississippi State and Mississippi Valley State. Mississippi State leads the series 19-2 overall and 16-0 at home. Mississippi State defeated Mississippi Valley State 107-47 in head coach Sam Purcell's head coaching debut to open the 2022-23 season.

Mississippi State is the fourth SWAC team that Mississippi State has faced this season and the eighth overall under Purcell. The Bulldogs are 7-0 against SWAC teams under Purcell. Mississippi State will be the fifth of six SEC opponents that Mississippi Valley State will face this season.

Mississippi State has made it a point of emphasis to play other programs inside the state of Mississippi. Not including Ole Miss, Mississippi State has played all other Division I teams in the state 27 times and owns a 26-1 record in those games.

It will be the final non-conference contest for Mississippi State. Mississippi State is 25-5 in non-conference contests and enters Thursday 20-3 at home and 14-1 at home against non-conference regular season opponents under Purcell.

Graduate student guard Lauren Park-Lane was named SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 26 after a record-setting performance at Colorado State on Dec. 20 in which she set the Mississippi State single-game school record for most threes made by an individual – women's or men's – with a 10-17 effort from behind the arc.

Mississippi State has now had a player selected for the conference's top weekly honor in consecutive weeks after graduate student center Jessika Carter was voted SEC Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 19. Mississippi State and South Carolina are the only SEC schools to have players named in consecutive weeks this season. It also marks the first time that Mississippi State has had two different players voted for the award in back-to-back weeks since Teaira McCowan and Anriel Howard were selected in the initial two weeks on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20 of 2018-19 and the first time that the Bulldogs have earned the award in back-to-back weeks since McCowan did so herself on Jan. 15 and Jan. 22 later in that same season.

Following a three-game absence, Carter has returned on another level, averaging 19.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks on 57.6 percent from the field in 32.3 minutes per game over the last four contests.

The Bulldogs have been one of the most disciplined teams defensively in the entire nation through the non-conference schedule, standing second nationally with only 11.4 fouls per game. Mississippi State is 9-1 when it records 10 or fewer fouls under Purcell – which it has accomplished five times this season.

Mississippi State opens SEC action when it hosts Vanderbilt inside Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Mississippi State Concludes Non-Conference Slate With Mississippi Valley State

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Players Mentioned

Jessika Carter

Lauren Park-Lane

Mississippi State University Athletics