STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball is back in action at Humphrey Coliseum tonight for a matchup with Pittsburgh in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Head coach Sam Purcell’s Bulldogs are 7-1 in his fourth year at the helm and rank 42nd in the NCAA’s NET Rankings with their only loss being a Quad 1 road match at Texas Tech. The team has a chance to boost that ranking with a win against the Panthers, and Purcell is taking the opportunity to hype up the home test as much as possible.
He challenged the fanbase to show up and sell out the lower bowl of The Hump for the nonconference matchup and promised a team that will fight for every ball in return.
“Let’s do our part, let’s sell out the bottom bowl, and I’ll promise you today that I’m doing my part to make sure we improve some things that my team needs to do as we continue to progress through this season,” Purcell said.
When speaking to members of the local media on Sunday and Tuesday, there was a noticeable shift in Purcell’s tone. Normally upbeat, it was clear that the win over UL Monroe last weekend was not to the standard he has set for his group, and he said as much in front of the press.
“Our rebounding is God-awful, it’s fake numbers,” Purcell said. “Favour is phenomenal, but we’re not hitting bodies. Today, we’ll be hitting bodies.”
The practice plans for the Bulldogs that day were shaped around the apparent weaknesses in the team that haven’t yet cost them at home, but proved to be their undoing on the road against the Red Raiders two weeks ago.
On top of rebounding, turnovers and missed layups were another point of emphasis for Purcell, which he contributed partially to chaotic basketball and the fast pace of teams without true bigs, but he wants to see more of his team settling into possession and imposing themselves onto the game.
“We can’t be comfortable,” he stressed when discussing his team’s focus and intensity. “We’ve got to fight for starters’ time, fight for roles. When you have that, you’ll have harder competition, and there’ll be certain things that I’ve noticed on film we’ve got to get better at. Are we winning? We are, but I know what’s coming down the gauntlet, especially this Thursday, that if I don’t address it and punch it in the face, it’s going to punch us.”
Pitt comes into Starkville with a 6-4 record. The Panthers have not yet faced a Power 4 opponent, so the Bulldogs present a unique test for them this season.
Guard Mikayla Johnson and forward Fatima Diakhate lead the team in scoring with 11 points per game each, but the team as a whole has struggled to score. The Panthers have scored more than 70 points just once, beating Le Moyne 87-66, and have been held to fewer than 60 points twice in losses to Lafayette and Ball State.
For Purcell’s group, it’s the only Power 4 opponent left on the schedule until SEC play begins around New Year’s, so the increased intensity falls in line with the occasion. He wants his team to respond and pick themselves up before the real challenge begins in January.
“I’m not promising wins… I’m promising you’re going to get a team that plays hard,” Purcell said. “If we play hard and take care of what we’re going to do, then winning usually takes care of itself. So that’s what we’re focused on. I’ve got a great group here, a great focus on retainment. I’ve talked about the two young ladies that we’ve signed and our vision of where this is going, so again – we want to be one of those upper SEC programs. To do that, you’ve got to win games like this in the SEC/ACC Challenge to make your mark.”
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