STARKVILLE — Mississippi State freshman Madison Francis saw her chance to dunk early in the first quarter against Alabama State.

The 6-2 forward made headlines for her breakaway dunk as a high school senior last year, and got the green light from her head coach to try the same feat in college.

“I told her, if we get a breakaway, my Christmas present is for you to dunk,” head coach Sam Purcell said.

Unfortunately, Christmas didn’t come early for Francis. She left the ground a bit too early and the ball ricocheted off the rim.

“I didn’t, I tried though,” Francis said with a smile after the game. “My footing was wrong and it came off, but I’ve got y’all for sure.”

She was positive for a reason. Despite the miss, she recorded a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double, becoming just the fourth Bulldog freshman in the 30-point club after LaToya Thomas, Victoria Vivians and Rickea Jackson.

Special company for a special player.

“You’ve got to understand, a lot of women find that embarrassing, but she smiled, and for her to miss the dunk and still go put up  30 and 10 just tells you how special this young lady is,” Purcell said. “I think I speak for everybody in Starkville; obviously, we want to see her here all four years, and she’s going to be capable of doing big things.”

Francis led the way for a dominant 105-57 win for the Bulldogs against Alabama State on Wednesday. The box score featured four other high-scorers behind her, notably frontcourt partner Favour Nwaedozi with 20 points. Kharyssa Richardson added another 15 off the bench, followed closely by freshman Jayla Lampley’s 12 and Chandler Prater’s 10-point-11-rebound double-double performance.

MSU was heavily favored against ASU, and played as such, but it was another entertaining night of basketball from a group that can’t get enough minutes playing together.

“I would say we’re playing together really well right now,” Nwaedozi said. “We’re talking, we’re communicating on the floor, and that’s something we’ve had issues with in past games. Although we’ve won, it wasn’t how we wanted to win those games. Going forward, even in these past games we’ve won, we’re trying to communicate, and it’s working for us.”

Nwaedozi, a junior transfer from Nigeria who played collegiately in Japan last year, has formed a positive frontcourt partnership with Francis early in their respective MSU careers. The pair combined for 54 points, and are the top two respective scorers in points per game on the team.

“It’s fun every night, knowing that she’s going to find you when you’re open,” Nwaedozi said of playing with Francis. “And if you at any time miss a shot? Don’t worry, Mattie got you.”

Their big night on the court and at the post-game press conference reflected a positive vibe that has been present throughout the season. The players and coaches have continued to highlight how much fun the group has together, and Purcell is seeing that fuel their performances.

“The young ladies are coming together,” Purcell said when asked about the pieces clicking together. “Every day, the practices have been great. I told you on Dec. 1, I was really challenging them. They bought in, we’re getting a feel for each other after a certain number of games now.”

The Bulldogs have one more road trip to face La Salle this weekend before Christmas, and then a return home to face Samford before starting an SEC gauntlet of six ranked opponents in eight games.

For Purcell, that shift in intensity is coming at just the right time, and he’s seeing a team that is clicking at the right time.

“You can see what you’re talking about, a click, but most importantly what I’ve heard from all our fans… they’re enjoying watching team basketball,” Purcell continued. “Not just one individual going one on one, and that’s what I’m trying to tell my young women. You’ve got an opportunity here to put on a show for a fanbase that will support you like no other, come SEC play. We’re going to need that if we’re going to try to make a run for March.”