STARKVILLE — Every superhero needs a sidekick, and basketball history is replete with metaphors about secondary scorers and ball-handlers supporting their teams’ star players. But that’s not how Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell views the on-court dynamic between fifth-year senior guard Jerkaila Jordan and grad transfer wing Eniya Russell.
“There is no Batman and Robin. They can be Batman and Batman,” Purcell said after Sunday’s win at Georgia. “When you talk about UConn, they always talk about Paige (Bueckers) and Azzi Fudd. You talk about Notre Dame, it’s Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles.”
Jordan and Russell took turns playing the lead role in the Bulldogs’ two wins last week. Against then-No. 10 Oklahoma, it was Jordan who took over down the stretch, scoring 12 fourth-quarter points to help MSU earn its first Southeastern Conference victory. Three days later at Georgia, Russell — who was not certain to play before the game — scored 21 points and knocked down four 3-pointers, also dishing out nine assists as MSU (15-3, 2-2 SEC) won by double digits.
The Bulldogs’ offense can flow through either player. Jordan and Russell are MSU’s leaders in scoring, field goal and free throw attempts, and are second and third, respectively, on the team in minutes played per game behind Debreasha Powe.
“You have to have two players who can work together and play together,” Purcell said Wednesday. “Their chemistry is coming on as strong as anybody’s. And what I was excited (about) was it has nothing to do with scoring. The beginning play of the Georgia game, Eniya comes down and throws an unbelievable corner pass to Powe. (Jordan) gets doubled in the Oklahoma game and throws out an unbelievable pass.”
Russell may not be as proficient a 3-point shooter as Darrione Rogers, who transferred from MSU to Miami in the offseason, but she is a more well-rounded offensive player who can take over a game if needed, alleviating some of the pressure from Jordan’s shoulders.
“For them to be able threats (to score) but also get our team involved to allow them to play to our strengths, that’s what I’ve seen the most, and that’s (why) I’m excited for where we’re going,” Purcell said.
Scouting Tennessee
The Bulldogs head to Knoxville on Thursday night to face the No. 15 Volunteers (14-2, 2-2), whose two losses — both at home — came by a combined three points against Oklahoma and LSU. Tennessee is by far the best scoring offense in the country, putting up 96.4 points per game, and the Volunteers score so much by playing fast. They have attempted and made the most field goals and 3-pointers in all of Division I women’s basketball.
Tennessee is also the nation’s top offensive rebounding team and forces the second-most turnovers per game, which could pose problems for an MSU team that has struggled to take care of the ball.
“It’s just a different brand of basketball, but within that different brand, you really have to be able to read between the lines,” Purcell said. “You have to take care of the basketball. You have to own the paint. They’ll send four to five people to the boards. They’re just relentless, so you have to be great with box-outs.”
There are downsides to the Volunteers’ frantic pace — Tennessee commits the most fouls and allows the most free throw attempts per game in the SEC. Only Arkansas has a worse scoring defense among SEC teams, and while the Volunteers have the second-best 3-point defense in the conference, their opponents’ field goal percentage of 44.7 is easily the highest in the league.
Talaysia Cooper leads Tennessee with 18.3 points per game and leads the conference in steals. All five of the Volunteers’ most-used starters average double-figure scoring, with Samara Spencer among the SEC’s leaders in assists and 3-point percentage. The Bulldogs will also have to keep an eye on Jewel Spear and her outside shooting prowess.
“Because they send four to the boards, if you can secure the rebounds and you can get out, you can get easy transition opportunities because they’re willing to gamble,” Purcell said. “The stat everybody needs to watch is what our field goal percentage is, because for as many turnovers as (we) might have in this game, if we’re 50% from the field or 55, we have a great chance to win this game. We have to make shots.”
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