SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Mississippi State senior forward Jessika Carter was the lone Bulldog on MSU’s last NCAA tournament team in 2019.
Over the course of that run, which ended in the Elite Eight, Carter scored just two points while playing sparingly. To begin her second March Madness go-around, Carter bested that within three minutes.
Carter scored 11-seeded MSU’s first six points in its 70-56 First Four win over 11-seed Illinois Wednesday night at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion. She finished with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting, adding nine rebounds and one assist.
Fueled by that effort, the Bulldogs advanced to Friday’s Round of 64 matchup against No. 6 Creighton (5 p.m./ESPNEWS).
“It just felt good being out there with my teammates and coaches,” Carter said following the win. “Just having fun really.”
It took a while for Carter, who sat out all of last season, to get back to the point of smiling after buckets and flexing after putbacks and blocks like she was against the Illini.
It was apparent early in Wednesday’s game that Carter and her 6-foot-5 frame had the advantage over Illinois’ starting center Kendall Bostic, 6-foot-2. It also helped that Bostic was nursing a lower leg injury over the past week, which limited her mobility.
Carter scored 10 of her points in the first half. MSU head coach Sam Purcell admitted the team went away from her too much in the second quarter. Then in the second half, it became Carter’s show.
“Jessika Carter is the best thing out here right now,” Purcell said. “Get her the ball.”
Out of halftime, Carter scored four of MSU’s 11 points during an 11-2 which extended its 31-30 lead to 42-32 with six minutes to go in the quarter.
Later on in the fourth, she added back-to-back layups to put MSU up 69-53 and effectively put the game out of reach.
Wednesday’s performance was Carter’s sixth 20-plus point game this season and first since MSU’s 77-76 win over Kentucky on Jan. 22
“Outside the matchups, I have been saying it all year, Jessika Carter is one of the best stories in women’s basketball,” Purcell said. “For her to take a year off and see her come back better than ever, it is awesome to watch.”
Bulldogs’ bench has a big game
It wasn’t part of MSU’s game plan to lose Ahlana Smith early in the first quarter to foul trouble. Smith only played four minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls in a span of 50 seconds and was held scoreless (0-for-3 from the field) in the game for the first time since Nov. 29 against Louisiana-Monroe.
Losing a key starter who averages 9.8 points per game could have spelled disaster for the Bulldogs, especially with how closely contested the first half was played. But it was their role and bench players that picked up the slack, making timely buckets throughout Wednesday’s game.
“It was huge,” Purcell said. “I kept telling my young women when I saw this roster when we first started, if you trust me and are willing to work together, we got something special because we got depth.”
MSU’s bench outscored Illinois’ 20-9 in Wednesday’s win, led by Kourtney Weber’s eight points. Weber twice beat the quarter-ending buzzer, finishing the first with a corner three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 21-19 lead and ending the third with a putback layup to give them a commanding 52-38 advantage.
Ramani Parker (6 points) hit two three-pointers after immediately checking in during the first quarter and Asiana Johnson added five, tying the game at 23 in the second off of a jumper and knocking down three free throws.
“We’ve got multiple people that can step up night-in and night-out,” Purcell said. “…What you are seeing right now is that my team wants to win. It is not about an individual, so when one goes down the next one steps up. It was just a beautiful performance from my young women and they just didn’t want to lose. It was awesome to see.”
Purcell gets first tourney win as a head coach
Purcell said he received a handful of texts an hour before the game on a thread from his fellow SEC coaches. They offered encouragement and told Purcell to help set the tone for the conference in the NCAA Tournament.
“For them to text me, being a first-year head coach, and wishing me good luck for us to set the tone, I couldn’t be happier.”
Not only did Purcell accomplish that, but he picked up his first NCAA tournament win as a head coach in the process. Still, Purcell deflected all of the credit to his players.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “I appreciate all the love and recognition, but I would not be sitting here today if I wasn’t coaching a great group of young women.”
For the Bulldogs, who played for two national championships in the past decade, it was their first tournament win in four years and a sign that Purcell has the program heading back in the right direction.
“… We didn’t just play. We won,” Purcell said. “I think it is a statement across the country, like OK they really have something special.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
