STARKVILLE — As the chorus of “Let’s go Dawgs!” chants enveloped Humphrey Coliseum, it was freshman guard Rickea Jackson notching 10 of her game-high 22 points to close the third quarter as Mississippi State (19-3, 7-1 SEC) labored to a 78-73 win over Auburn (7-12, 1-7 SEC) on Thursday.
“I just thought we played uninspired tonight, and I think it’s kind of been that way since the South Carolina game,” Schaefer said.
Battling through a first half in which perhaps the only positive was a student hitting a half-court shot for $5,000 from Cannon Motors, the Bulldogs struggled to deal with a persistent Tiger full-court press — notching 11 of their 18 turnovers in the game’s opening 20 minutes.
Sophomore point guard Myah Taylor was noticeably out of sorts. Fighting through the physical Auburn pressure, Taylor struggled to find open teammates as she pushed toward midcourt — lofting balls over the end line, out the sideline and into traffic.
“As a point guard I got frustrated, and I can’t do that, because it starts with me,” she said postgame, noticeably shaken from the performance. “If my teammates see me frustrated, it just trickles down, so I have to be better as a point guard.”
“It’s definitely something that’s eye opening for me,” Taylor continued. “It’s something that I’m going to have to go to work on and take responsibility for that and how we started and the turnovers and things like that. I just have to be better.”
Freshman guard JaMya Mingo-Young — who’d shown flashes of promise and could end the season as the No. 1 point guard in Starkville — was similarly thwarted, earning a plus-minus rating of minus-4 in her 17 minutes played.
With the MSU backcourt playing at a breakneck pace, it was Jackson who proved a calming presence in a game she started on the bench in favor of sophomore Xaria Wiggins.
Playing at the 4 alongside sophomore center Jessika Carter in an effort to get her in a comfortable spot along the baseline, Jackson glided through traffic to finish at the rim while finding soft spots in the corners against a 1-2-2 Tiger press as she finished 10 of 14 from the floor for her third 20-point scoring output of the year.
“Rickea Jackson was over there playing like she was in a video game or something,” Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “When she shot it I didn’t even have to look — it looked like it was going in. She really helped them a lot.”
“I’m the type of person that likes to go to the hole rather than shoot a 3 — I will only shoot a 3 if I’m wide open,” Jackson added. “I just know that I’m tall and I can elevate over people, so it’s kind of easier and I have more confidence in the paint — that’s something I work on, so I just feel like that’s my shot.”
While Jackson anchored the MSU offense, it was a taxing test for the Bulldogs’ paper-thin frontcourt. For the third time in four games, Carter — who Schaefer said postgame is dealing with a spur on the bottom of her foot — picked up two fouls before the halftime buzzer sounded and fouled out of the contest with 3 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
With Carter sidelined, junior college transfer Yemiyah Morris handled center duties, finishing with eight points in 12 minutes of action.
“I do need (Jessika) to stay out of foul trouble for sure, but I’m really proud of Yemiyah and how she came in and played,” Schaefer said.
Now sitting at 7-1 in conference play, the Bulldogs have been groggy at best in wins over Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and, now, Auburn. And while the hangover has persisted longer than Schaefer would hope, the eighth-year head coach is remaining patient with his youthful contingent.
“I just thought we played uninspired tonight and it’s been that way since the South Carolina game to be honest with you,” he said. “We’ve just kind of been that way — I wasn’t that impressed with Sunday’s game (against Ole Miss). But one thing I’ve learned in this business is you take a conference win and you run with it, especially with this young group. Every night isn’t going to be peaches and cream. We’re going to take the win and go on.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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