Okot and Russell power State to 70-52 win at Maryland Eastern Shore
An eight-game road trip came to a close for Mississippi State’s women’s basketball program on Friday and the Bulldogs got another win.
Some sluggish first half moments were overcome with a relatively cleaner second half as State pulled away in a 70-52 win over Maryland Eastern Shore. It capped eight games and one month on the road for the Bulldogs away from Humphrey Coliseum.
“I did a heck of a job challenging my young women with a tough road schedule. For us to do what we’ve done these last three weeks, I couldn’t be more excited as a coach,” Purcell said on postgame radio. “This is the hardest game in college basketball – I call it the Christmas game. Can you stay focused here? For them to come out and get this win and go home to their families and let’s come back, I’m excited where this can go.”
The Bulldogs (12-1) struggled to find offensive rhythm the entire ball game and failed to notch a 20-point quarter. One of the reasons for the inconsistencies on offense was the absence of a major leader and 3-point weapon in Debreasha Powe.
The junior was scratched from the lineup due to a minor foot procedure that isn’t expected to keep her out in the coming games, but State couldn’t find its stroke from range. The Bulldogs finished just 4-of-22 shooting on 3-point shots while hitting 48% from the field with a 30-for-63 showing there.
Okot and Russell carry the load for sluggish State team
Madina Okot had a career game with her 26 points eclipsing a new high and hs had seven rebounds to go along with it in just 22 minutes. Eniya Russell played 27 minutes and finished with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 2-of-9 from three. Russell filled up the stat sheet again as she hit a double-double with 10 points and also had six assists. It was a nice return home for the Baltimore native.
“(Okot) just keeps learning our system and finding ways to get better. For 21 minutes, it’s crazy the numbers she can put up but I look at it as a collective system,” Purcell said. “And I was so happy for (Russell). For her to come back here it was huge.”
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The Bulldogs had a sluggish start to the game leading 18-14 after the first quarter and then the team went back and forth with the Hawks in the second. By halftime, the Bulldogs had closed the final minute strong enough to push the lead to 37-29 and they would grab momentum from that.
State’s defense gave up just 23 points in the second half and it allowed the Bulldogs to push the lead to 20 points late in the game.
MSU was just 6-of-11 from the free throw line, tied at 34 on rebounds and had 15 turnovers. The Bulldogs did land 19 assists with 25 forced turnovers and outscored the Hawks 50-18 in the paint while outscoring the home team 20-6 off of turnovers.
With the Christmas break now taking precedence for Purcell’s Bulldogs, the team will come back from that with the first home game in well over one month. December 29 will be the return to The Hump for the first time since November 20 as the Bulldogs take on South Carolina State in the final non-conference game of the regular season.
Game time is 2 p.m. on SEC Network +.
