Bulldogs come back home, bounce back in 78-55 win over Arkansas

Following back-to-back tough losses, Mississippi State needed a fast start on Thursday night to get back on track and the Bulldogs got just that.

State jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first quarter and had a big finish to the first half that allowed the Bulldogs to get distance on Arkansas. It was a 78-55 victory as the Bulldogs won in convincing fashion for the second home game in a row.

“I really love this team, and they have a spirit about them. They haven’t folded and want to get better,” head coach Sam Purcell said. “I thought a lot of the things that have been failures in previous games, you saw glimpses of correction and that’s the biggest thing this time of year.”

Bulldog depth is the difference in win

The Bulldogs showed the difference in the current state of the two teams on Thursday night as State had depth and the Razorbacks did not. Arkansas is missing two of its top players in Kiki Smith and Neshoba Central alum Carly Keats. The only true offensive threat has been leading scorer Izzy Higginbotom.

Sam Purcell was confident that Higginbotom would find a way to her points and the coach’s goal was to make sure the rest of the group was silent. That played out for State as Higginbotom scored 26 of the 55 points with 13-of-13 makes from the free throw line before fouling out in the fourth quarter. No one else scored more than six points for the Razorbacks (9-16, 2-8 SEC) as they continued to struggle in SEC play.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs had five players score in double figures. Debreasha Powe had 16 points as she made 5-of-7 3-pointers – including hitting her first five that she shot in the first half.

“I’ve honestly got to give credit to my teammates – they believe in me. They were finding me in transition and telling me to knock it down. I was ready for it this game.”

Jerkaila Jordan also had 16 points in the win and finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Chandler Prater got her second-straight start and followed through with 14 points on 6-of-11 with six rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes.

Madina Okot had her own double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Destiney McPhaul scored 11 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting in 23 minutes.

State came out of the gates hot on Thursday night as it held a 28-17 lead after the first quarter. Higginbotom had 14 of those points and made 11-of-11 free throws to keep the Razorbacks within striking distance.

The two teams went back and forth for a bit in the third quarter before the Bulldogs finished the half strong. State went on a 10-0 run to end the half spearheaded by back-to-back threes from Powe to would give State a 49-30 lead and the advantage wouldn’t draw closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

“Our theme was ‘answer the call’. I thought we had a great scout against LSU, but we didn’t execute ball screen coverage and the next thing you know, we’re down 9-0,” Purcell said. “Our biggest thing today was to stick to the plan and see if we can’t execute. It was huge for us to follow the scout.”

MSU (17-7, 4-6 SEC) made 47% of its shots and finished 9-of-21 from long range while holding Arkansas to 38% and 2-of-14 from deep. The Razorbacks were carried most of the way by a 15-of-20 free throw shooting night compared to just 3-of-8 for the Bulldogs.

State forced 23 turnovers and scored 27 points off of those while having 18 of its own. The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards 43-29, had 17 offensive boards turn into 15 points and had 18 assists on the 33 made shots.

Now the Bulldogs have a big one coming on Sunday. No. 23 Alabama (19-4, 6-4 SEC) in a 1 p.m. showdown on SEC Network. It’s a big one for a State team trying to solidify an NCAA Tournament berth.

“It’s the SEC – you can’t be down too long or it’s going to show in the next games,” Jordan said. “Our focus is one game at a time, one win at a time. March is around the corner and we’re trying to stack as many wins as possible.”