Trip to Indy and WBIT Final Four on the line for Bulldogs at Penn State
No matter the tournament, basketball season is still alive and well for Mississippi State women.
The Bulldogs missed out on the NCAA Tournament a couple of weeks ago but have responded in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. After blowing by Georgia Tech in round one, State knocked off TCU on Sunday afternoon and earned a date with No. 1 seed Penn State on the road on Thursday night (5 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
Coach Sam Purcell challenged his team to attack this tournament with the same spirit that they would the Big Dance and it’s worked to this point. A win on Thursday night will pit the Bulldogs inside the Final Four of the WBIT playing in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
“This has been a great experience to be in this tournament. March should be a special time,” Purcell said. “Especially for these young kids, we’re watching them grow right in front of our eyes. For the seniors, they have professional opportunities ahead of them and camp is right around the corner, so they need to stay in shape. We’re having a lot of fun right now.”
This particular postseason experience has certainly been good for some players individually. Freshman Jasmine Brown-Hagger had the best game of her career with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists against Georgia Tech.
Jessika Carter broke the school record for games played during the Bulldogs’ win over TCU with her 150th career contest in maroon and white. The star center also became the second-leading rebounder in school history in that game. Additionally, Lauren Park-Lane now owns the single-season record for assists at MSU thanks to the extra games played.
Nittany Lions present major road challenge
While the individual work is great, the team is focused on winning a championship and that will go through the Nittany Lions on the road. Coach Carolyn Kieger’s team is much improved this season at 21-12 and finished out a tough Big Ten schedule at 9-9.
“We have our work cut out. It’s really cool because you have two women’s basketball programs with some great history behind them over the years. She just does a great job. She sets the tempo with their presses, they make it ugly,” Purcell said. “It’s going to be a huge test up there and I’m excited to see if we can’t keep some of that seatbelt defensive mentality that we’ve had here that’s been fun to watch.”
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Many Bulldog fans will recognize Kieger’s name from the coach’s time at Marquette. Former coach Vic Schaefer’s teams had their hands full with Marquette several years ago and Kieger took that team from the depths and went to the NCAA Tournament three years in a row with 24 or more wins each of her final three seasons.
Since taking over a struggling Penn State program, Kieger has improved the team every single year. The Lions were 7-23, 9-15, 11-18 and 14-17 in consecutive seasons before making the leap to 20-plus wins this year and the school’s first postseason tournament since 2013-14. It’s the first winning record the program has had since 2016-17.
On the year, Penn State has a one-point loss to USC, an overtime defeat to Ohio State and challenged itself against some of the best players in the country like Caitlin Clark. The top 30 NET squad will present another major challenge for the Bulldogs but it’s exactly what Purcell is looking for at this stage of the season.
“We want to make sure that this time next year, I hope we aren’t on the bubble. If we are, they’re like this Mississippi State team knows how to win in March,” Purcell said. “When you look at stuff like this, teams that have won this have propelled into next season with a hunger and swagger about them and that’s what I’m hoping comes out of this.”
