Mississippi State teaches Alabama State a lesson on Education Day in 83-29 win

Coach Sam Purcell knew that the addition of 6,000 kids for Mississippi State’s Education Day on Wednesday was going to make for a loud environment.

Since they were already inside Humphrey Coliseum, the coach and his team thought they might as well give them something to yell about against Alabama State.

The Bulldogs held an opponent to its lowest total since 2003 as they rolled to a 83-29 victory over the Hornets. State gave up just 13 second half points to move to 3-0 on the season.

“What an unbelievable crowd. To think this game occurred at 11 a.m.,” Purcell said. “I told my kids to enjoy it because 15 years ago you were that kid. This game was bigger than basketball, it was to come out and play with pride and joy because who knows what young lady or little boy just got inspired to play the game of basketball. Hopefully one day they’ll become a Bulldog.”

Bulldogs locked in early in blowout win

Unlike the early stages of the last game against Alcorn State, the Bulldogs came out in this one locked in on their game plan and execution. State led 13-0 before the Hornets could score and it was 25-7 by the end of the quarter.

After leading 43-16 at the half, State posted its lowest quarter of points surrendered in school history when the Bulldogs outscored the Hornets 17-1. The team was on pace to have the lowest points allowed in a half but ASU was able to get some garbage time scoring to prevent that with a 12-point fourth.

“That first 5 minutes was probably the best basketball I’ve seen them play,” Purcell said of his team. “They were dialed in so that gives me a lot of excitement moving forward. Pick your poison because this team can come out from the jump and put up some big numbers and get some big stops.”

MSU shot 30-of-64 (47%) and 11-of-28 (39%) from 3-point range on Wednesday. The turnovers were still relatively high for Purcell’s liking with 17, but those were cancelled out by the 22 assists by the offense.

Meanwhile, State’s defense was at its best as the Bulldogs held ASU to 22% (11-of-49) shooting and just 4-of-22 from 3-point range. State forced the Hornets into 26 turnovers and scored 36 points off of those while outrebounding them 48-29.

Production was spread around the roster for the Bulldogs as 12 players got action in the game and nine of them scored. Madina Okot produced her second double-double of the three games with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and she pulled down 12 rebounds with five steals on the defensive end.

Eniya Russell had another big game as the Kentucky transfer finished with 16 points on 5-of-9 and eight assists in 26 minutes. Debreasha Powe finished with 14 points and six rebounds and hit four 3-pointers in the first half of the game. Powe had a lot of joy come from her performance in front of kids that were sitting in the same seats she did several years ago.

“It’s inspiring seeing them and the way they were cheering,” Powe said. “I remember being in their shoes watching girls playing and wanting to be where they were. For us to be able to play in front of them, I am grateful and blessed.”

Terren Ward also had her coming out party as she came off the bench for 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting, 3-of-4 3-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws. Ward also had eight rebounds in her 14 minutes played after missing last game.

Up Next

With the win, State (3-0) looks to continue its strong start to the year when it welcomes in Chattanooga on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Mocs (2-1) knocked off the Bulldogs last season 59-53 and were an NCAA Tournament team at 28-5.

“I want to play winning programs like Belmont and Chattanooga who are usually going to win their conference. They have a winning culture so we have to be ready to go,” Purcell said of the Mocs. “Even though they have a new coach, they have a winning track record from her previous school. This will hands down be the biggest challenge we’ve had to this point.”