STARKVILLE — Mississippi State has had weaknesses exposed in the past several games. On Thursday night, the Bulldogs showed signs that corrections are being made.
Mississippi State started strong, then got going late in the second quarter to beat Arkansas 78-55 at the Humphrey Coliseum.
It was a much needed win for State (17-7, 4-6 SEC), who lost four of its last five games heading into Thursday.
“I really love this team, and they have a spirit about them. They haven’t folded, and they want to get better,” Bulldogs coach Sam Purcell said. “And I thought a lot of the things that we’ve had failures in previous games, you saw glimpses of correction, and that’s the biggest thing at this time of year.”
Jerkaila Jordan started the game with back-to-back layups. Chandler Prater followed with back-to-back mid-range jumpers as part of an 8-0 run to start the game. Later in the first quarter, Eniya Russell and Debreasha Powe each hit threes to make it 14-2 with 6:27 to go.
Izzy Higginbottom, the SEC’s leading scorer at 24.3 points per game, kept the Razorbacks (9-16, 2-8) around with 14 points in the first quarter.
After some back and forth in the second quarter, MSU ended the period on a 10-0 run courtesy of two layups from Madina Okot and a pair of threes from Powe. It put the Bulldogs ahead 49-30 at halftime.
Among the corrections made was an improved defensive technique in the first half. The Bulldogs have been stressing the little things in the days leading up to Thursday.
“Our hands were up. We didn’t leave our feet as much,” Purcell said. “And those are things that we’ve been working really hard on behind the scenes.”
Another was getting consistency from Powe, whose 16 points tied a season-high. She made her first five 3-point attempts.
“I honestly just got to give credit to my teammates,” she said. “They believed in me. They was finding me in transition, just telling me to knock it down, and I was ready to this game.”
Powe was tied with Jordan for the team lead in points.
The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run early in the third quarter to create more separation. In the fourth, Prater hit another three and Okot forced two straight turnovers, turning both into layups. The baskets were part of a 7-0 run that put the contest away.
Five Bulldogs scored at least 11 points. This includes Prater, who has started each of the last two games in place of Russell. The senior feels that the support of her teammates and coaches has been a big help.
“It feels good to start, and it feels good to know that my teammates and my coaches believe in me,” she said. “And I want them to trust me with that responsibility, because I know it is a big responsibility.”
The complete scoring effort supports a notion that Purcell has believed all season; that Mississippi State’s best basketball is still ahead of it as the team continues to gel. In recent weeks, that has involved players like the ones who eclipsed double digits on Thursday enjoying the fruits of their labor.
“Those are kids who are in the gym who are having results, but it doesn’t surprise me, because I’ve really challenged them to put the extra individual hours behind the scenes, and when they do that, that helps gel our team…..and allows better team performance.”
Mississippi State returns to action on Sunday, when it hosts No. 23 Alabama. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. on the SEC Network.
