Third quarter surge leads Mississippi State past Jacksonville State
Mississippi State women’s hoops downed the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 84-45 on Sunday on the back of a blistering 16-0 run to open up the second half.
Jerkaila Jordan‘s 16 points led the way in the by-committee affair, and she was followed closely by Jessika Carter’s 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Freshman guard Mjracle Sheppard also drew the start over transfer Lauren Park-Lane at the point and played well, finishing with 14 points and four assists.
Mjracle Sheppard’s start
When asked about the decision to start Sheppard, Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell said that a coach’s decision led to the move.
“That was a coach’s decision,” said Purcell. “Obviously, LP is our point guard, but for Mjracle to step into today’s game in a starting role…I’m blessed. Most coaching staffs and most programs only have one point guard, I actually have two.”
The win marked Mississippi State’s third win to open the season, and you don’t have to be a math scholar to know that makes it a win streak. Purcell and company have been trying several different rotations in the early portions of the season, and three games in, the staff has a better idea of where the rotation stands now that they have some tape to watch.
“I think, no matter who we play, fans should be excited,” said Purcell. “Obviously that was a small lineup, we can go small ball and we can match up, and then we’ve got a pressing lineup…we’re still learning to become a team.”
Play of the Game
The play of the game was an alley-oop lob from Arkansas transfer Erynn Barnum to Jerkaila Jordan for two of her 16 total points. Barnum said she was going to take it to the rack herself, but when she saw Jordan out of the corner of her eye, she couldn’t resist the attempt.
“I like to refer to myself as a big guard, and I think I can see the floor very well, so I was looking to score, but I saw (Jerkaila) running on the opposite side,” said Barnum, “and every day in practice we work on making the next pass to whoever is ahead of us, and I saw her point up, so I had to give it to her.”
State found ways to produce in the paint all night as well and finished with 50 points in the paint en route to their domination of the Gamecocks. Mississippi State also found their rhythm from the charity stripe, finishing with a 21-24 shooting effort at the line, good enough for an 87.5% clip.
Epilepsy Awareness Night
Tonight was also a special night for the MSU women’s hoops program for reasons other than the win, as the entire team wore purple ribbons and buttons in observance of epilepsy awareness night. Cory Irvin, son of Mississippi State assistant coach Corry Irvin, joined the coaches and players postgame where his mother detailed the struggles that some children in Mississippi face when it comes to living with epilepsy. For more information on epilepsy and how you can help, look here.
Mississippi State improved to 3-0 on the season in their efforts against Jacksonville State. They’ll host New Orleans in their next matchup this Wednesday at the Hump. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. as the Bulldogs look forward to Kids day in The Hump.
