State returns to The Hump after month away, wrap up non-conference slate

Sometimes it takes time away from home to have one realize just how much they’ve missed it.

For Mississippi State women’s basketball, its heart couldn’t have grown fonder after being absent from Humphrey Coliseum for over a month. The Bulldogs took an eight-game road trip that took them to Orlando, the Cayman Islands, Atlanta, Chicago, Tupelo, Monroe, La., and Princess Anne, Md., over the course of over one month.

State played its last home game on November 20 when the Bulldogs took down Mercer 81-44. It was a successful time away from home as State was 7-1 with big wins over Utah and South Florida and a tough loss to No. 13 and undefeated Georgia Tech. It wasn’t a perfect stretch by any means and even the wins had flaws, but the Bulldogs sit one game away from SEC play with a 12-1 record.

It’s the best start for a State team since Vic Schaefer led his 2018-19 squad to a 22-1 start. While that will be a tough task for Sam Purcell with the SEC slate ahead, it’s a heck of a beginning for the Bulldogs and their new look team.

With three new starters and a lot more fresh faces off of the bench, the Bulldogs are averaging 77.6 points per game and surrendering just 52.2. They hold teams to 31% from the field, 24% from 3-point range and have a 13.3 edge on rebounding. State is fourth in the country in field goal percentage defense, seventh in rebounding margin, 10th in scoring defense and 11th in 3-point defense.

One area that the Bulldogs need to improve is taking care of the basketball. State has turned the ball over 16.4 times per game before the conference schedule has arrived which is 155th nationally.

Big individual performances have helped get the Bulldogs through those turnovers. Jerkaila Jordan is starting to put together some great games and is averaging 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds a game with a team-high 19 steals. Kentucky transfer Eniya Russell is having the best season of her career with 13.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and a team-best 4.3 assists per game.

Madina Okot has been a revelation for Purcell’s Bulldogs as the 6’6 Kenyan center was deemed eligible this year and has come through with 12.8 points and 9.3 rebounds so far this year. Meanwhile, third year starter Debreasha Powe is averaging 10.1 points per game and has made an incredible 48% of her 3-pointers with 29 makes in 13 games.

Sunday represents a final non-conference challenge as State will host South Carolina State at 2 p.m. on SEC Network +. The other Bulldogs are a putrid 1-14 so far this season so it’s a game that State needs to dominate from start to finish ahead of the grueling conference slate.

After Sunday, the Bulldogs start the SEC schedule at No. 16 Kentucky on January 2 and then home games with No. 2 South Carolina (Jan. 5) and No. 9 Oklahoma (Jan. 9).

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