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Jessika Carter comes through to help Bulldogs survive in Fayetteville, 66-63

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•01/11/24•

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Jessika Carter
Photo By: Mississippi State Athletics

After a tough first week in SEC play, Jessika Carter bounced back in a major way on Thursday night.

In a game on the road at Arkansas in which Mississippi State was fading, Carter put the team on her back. Five fourth quarter points, six rebounds and a blocked shot that could have tied the game in the final seconds had Carter leading the team to a 66-63 win.

After scoring just 14 points and pulling down 18 rebounds in the two losses against Vanderbilt and South Carolina, Carter had a monster night on Thursday. The senior from Georgia dominated the post with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 19 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in the win.

“She was upset last week. It speaks volumes of her leadership when she looks in the mirror and says it starts with me,’” Purcell said of Carters. “She was special.”

Razorback Bombs Don’t Land

It was a night that neither team could shoot the ball very well. After the Razorbacks beat Georgia by 40 points at home last week thanks to a barrage of threes, the home team missed 28 of them. Arkansas was just 10-of-38 in the game and shot 21-of-68 overall including missing the last four shots in the game.

State struggled as well shooting just 2-of-14 from 3-point range and making 28-of-73 shots from the field. While the Razorbacks missed their 3-poinetrs, State cleaned up the glass winning the boards 50-37 led by Carter’s 19 – a new career-high in SEC games.

Leading scorer Jerkaila Jordan finished the night with 17 points on 8-of-18 shooting with five rebounds but was playing on a bum ankle. The talented senior guard twisted it in the practice before the team left for Fayetteville and was a game-time decision according to Purcell.

Lauren Park-Lane finished the night with 11 points, seven assists, five rebounds and had just one turnover. It was another tough night, however, for power forward Erynn Barnum who had just four points on 2-of-10 shooting and two rebounds in her return home to play her former team. Barnum has just nine points and seven rebounds combined in the first three SEC games after averaging 9.1 points and 7.1 boards in non-conference play.

State (14-4, 1-2 SEC) started the game on a 10-0 run and held the Razorbacks without points for nearly 5 minutes, but State couldn’t build the lead beyond that and had a 16-13 advantage after a quarter. As threes continued to beat up the rim for Arkansas, that lead grew in the second quarter as Arkansas surrendered an 11-0 run to start that frame and the team was down 34-22 at the break.

The shots began to fall in the second half for Arkansas and the Hogs tied the game at 44 on back-to-back 3-pointers. The Razorbacks had 26 points in the third frame and closed the lead to 49-48.

Arkansas got its first lead at the 3:30 mark and held it again at 2:48 before Carter began to take over. Carter got a three-point play and then had another offensive rebound and putback to help get the Bulldogs leads out to three points. She blocked another shot on a drive to the rim with 7 seconds left and State was able to hold on for the win.

Up Next:

It was a key victory for State as they get set for four critical ball games over the next two weeks. MSU hosts Ole Miss on Sunday at 4 p.m. and will welcome in former player Rickea Jackson and Tennessee on Thursday night at 6 p.m. before going to Gainesville to take on Florida on January 22 and playing at home against top 10 LSU on January 29.

“We’ve got to have one game at a time,” Purcell said. “There’s no doubt we needed this win. To finally be able to take a deep breath is great. It’s anybody’s league, so our team knows it’s one game at a time.”

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