Bulldogs and Aggies meet on Senior Day as State tries to close regular season strong
As the regular season closes down for Mississippi State women’s basketball, consistency is what Sam Purcell is trying to find with his team.
The Bulldogs (18-9, 5-8 SEC) have enjoyed some good moments this season only to turn around and take a step back. While the team has yet to have a string of bad results like it did a year ago, State still hasn’t been able to maintain consistency for a string of games either.
Last week was a perfect example for Purcell’s squad. The Bulldogs went to Vanderbilt and came away with a huge 85-77 victory in two overtimes. Going on the road to play a struggling Florida team, the Bulldogs were hoping to take another step towards securing the NCAA Tournament but gave the ball away 26 times on the way to a game-winning 3-pointer for the Gators in a 69-66 loss.
“What a unique week it was for us last week. You had two situations that are the same. One came out in our favorite at Vanderbilt and one didn’t,” Purcell said. “It’s a team that lacks return experience in moments so film is the best answer to that. We focused a lot of execution over the last two to three days. The offensive execution has been a big focus for us.”
Bulldogs need win on Sunday to move closer to NCAA Tournament
With that loss, the Bulldogs are facing three critical games to finish out the regular season and almost assuredly need to win two games to feel good about an NCAA Tournament berth. Two of the three are against teams ranked in the bottom five in the league.
Texas A&M and Auburn are must-win games sandwiched around State hosting No. 2 Texas and Vic Schaefer next Thursday. The Aggies come first on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m., SEC Network) for Senior Day.
The Aggies (10-15, 3-10 SEC) have lost seven-straight games and all by double digits as they struggle to find ways to score without star player Aicha Coulibaly. Purcell cautions that it’s a team and a coach that have beaten the Bulldogs late in the year two seasons in a row in the SEC Tournament.
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“I have the utmost respect for Jonie Taylor. She’s the ultimate pro. She’s one of our top coaches in college basketball,” Purcell said. “We’ve had battles in the regular season where we’ve been fortunate and then she’s beaten me in the SEC tournament. They’re very physical and try to control the tempo. They don’t want to get up and down and run, they want to be great in halfcourt sets and get to the free throw line.”
Sunday will be a celebration of three seniors that are on the verge of playing their final game inside Humphrey Coliseum. Kayla Thomas, Eniya Russell and Jerkaila Jordan have all had different journeys to Starkville but they all have one goal of making the NCAA Tournament.
Jordan is in the middle of one of her best seasons of her career and she’s enjoyed some great moments over four years. Averaging 16.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest, her best is imperative for the Bulldogs to make a run. The same can be said for Russell who is averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists but has been on a downturn since coming off of the bench.
Both players will be key along with others like Debreasha Powe, Madina Okot, Denim Deshields, Quanirah Montague and Chandler Prater.
“We have three games left. I just know that we can’t have any more bad losses,” Jordan said. “We have to go out with a bang using momentum going into the SEC Tournament. I’ve been to that tournament where we’re on the verge of making the Big Dance and missed it by one game.”
