STARKVILLE — Sam Purcell and his Mississippi State team were, of course, disappointed to not hear their names called during Sunday night’s NCAA women’s basketball championship selection show. But the Bulldogs’ head coach remains excited for the chance to compete again, and to do so at Humphrey Coliseum.
“It’s all about competition. I don’t care if it’s rock-paper-scissors, cornhole, the NCAA Tournament or the WBIT,” Purcell said. “That’s the kind of program that I want, that when given the opportunity, we’re excited about it where we can compete.”
A few of MSU’s key players are still chasing some major milestones. Center Jessika Carter will set the program record for career games played if she plays in two more games in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, and grad transfer point guard Lauren Park-Lane is six assists shy of the Bulldogs’ single-season record in that category.
The transfer portal officially opened Monday, and redshirt junior post player Nyayongah Gony, who started out at Miami, has already opted to transfer again for her final year of eligibility and will not be available for the WBIT.
The WBIT will also give MSU’s three freshmen — guards Mjracle Sheppard and Jasmine Brown-Hagger and post player Quanirah Montague — a chance to play in more postseason-type games. The Bulldogs (21-11, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) fell to Texas A&M in their first SEC Tournament game, so the freshmen have only played “win or go home” basketball once in their collegiate careers.
“That’s a top 16 recruiting class (and) they only got one game of ‘survive and advance,’” Purcell said. “To get that opportunity is huge. You can’t get enough of that, because I’ve got huge goals for this program, so the more we can get this kind of environment only helps for the future.”
Scouting Georgia Tech
As a No. 2 seed in the WBIT, MSU will host the Yellow Jackets (17-15, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) in the first round Thursday evening in Starkville. Georgia Tech finished 10th in the 15-member ACC, but lost five conference games by five points or fewer, so if the Yellow Jackets had been able to flip some of those results, they could have found themselves competing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Purcell is familiar with the Georgia Tech program — he was the Yellow Jackets’ video coordinator from 2007-09 and then an assistant coach there from 2009 until 2013, when he joined the staff at Louisville. He also briefly overlapped with current Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner, who became the head coach at Auburn in 2004 while Purcell was the Tigers’ video coordinator and administrative assistant.
“I know those kids at that institution because I worked there six years,” Purcell said. “They’re blue collar, hard working, have a lot of demands on them from an academic standpoint, and they’re really good.”
Three of the Yellow Jackets’ five close ACC losses came against ranked teams, so Georgia Tech is as battle-tested as anyone in the WBIT. Toni Morgan, formerly of Florida State, and Kara Dunn lead the Yellow Jackets with 15.6 points per game each, and Kayla Blackshear and freshman Rusne Augustinaite also average double-digit scoring.
Georgia Tech does not really stand out in any way offensively, though the Yellow Jackets do share the ball well and don’t turn it over much. Their defense is also rather pedestrian, ranking ninth in the ACC in points allowed per game.
“It’s going to be an absolute war here at home,” Purcell said. “That’s another thing that excites me about March, playing in front of our fans. I can understand how you could be disappointed how things unfolded, but again, look at the long haul. … My kids choose to put on a uniform and keep fighting, and I don’t think there’s anything else that you’d want in life than a bunch of Bulldogs who are proud to represent this university.”
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