STARKVILLE — It’s hard to imagine Teaira McCowan being more than advertised.
At 6-foot-7, the senior is one of the nation’s most dominating players. The Brenham, Texas, native has a wide wing span that allows her to terrorize anyone who enters the lane and is athletic and quick enough to beat post players on offensive moves to the rim and for rebounds.
When McCowan plays like she did Sunday, it’s hard to argue she isn’t one of the nation’s best players.
McCowan had game highs of 33 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 7 Mississippi State to an 80-49 victory against Ole Miss in a Southeastern Conference game before a crowd of 10,337 at Humphrey Coliseum.
“And more,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said when asked if McCowan was everything she had scouted and envisioned. “She’s a stud. I love her, I love her game. I love what she brings to the table. I love the fact that we got a block on her and we’re not going to be on ESPN because of her block and stare-down this game. I’m glad she’s a senior.”
McCowan was 11-for-16 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line. The 11 free throws were a career high and lifted her shooting percentage from the stripe to a career-high 75.5 percent. She shot 61.1 percent as a sophomore and 63.3 percent last season.
“I’m very pleased,” McCowan said when asked about her improved free-throw shooting. “We work on free throws. We shoot 50 a day so just making that, my focus is paying off.”
McCowan recorded her 16th double-double of the season. Anriel Howard had her fourth double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. That pair has combined for 92 career double-doubles, the most by an active pair of teammates in the country.
Howard, a graduate transfer from Texas A&M, said she noticed McCowan’s improvement in all facets of the game prior to arriving in Starkville. She said McCowan has continued to develop in the time she has joined the Bulldogs.
“Every year she got better, and I knew that by coming here, she would make me better as well,” Howard said. “The things that I anticipated as far as rebounding, I knew that we would compete for the boards. That’s good for both of us. We want to compete. I think coach (Schaefer) is pleased we do compete for the boards almost every time. Her game has definitely grown. … The little things, like when coach (Schaefer0 is talking about unlocking her hips, I see her actually working on that, and that’s really good to see. I am really proud of her and I think she will keep improving.”
Schaefer said she picks on McCowan every day when she shoots free throws. He said the Bulldogs put McCowan on the free-throw line and ask her to make a shot to send the team home. If she misses, the Bulldogs run. McCowan turned to her left to listen to Schaefer as he assessed her improved free-throw shooting.
“T’s got a beautiful shot,” Schaefer said. “Today you saw her extending, lifting, getting squared up, but then her free throw has really improved. Her free throw has improved throughout the course of her career. I can remember, her freshman or sophomore year, I think Blair (Schaefer) threw her the ball one night, we were trying to get out of Vanderbilt with a three or four-point win. Blair threw her the ball, and they went up and fouled T. I remember being like, ‘What are you doing?’ because at that time she was at about a 47-percent free-throw shooter. Now she’s worked hard to be where she is now. She’s going to be high 70’s after today. She’s worked hard on it, I’m proud of her.”
McCowan has scored 20 or more points in 29 games. It was her sixth 30-plus-point game.
State of the rivalry
MSU’s win cut Ole Miss lead in the all-time series to 63-33.
The momentum in the rivalry has changed since Ole Miss’ 90-76 victory against MSU on Jan. 23, 1975, in Oxford. That was the first of 17 wins by the Rebels to begin the series.
MSU’s 10th win in a row in the series matched the 76-45 victory for largest margin in that stretch.
“Definitely was excited to be a part of a rivalry,” McPhee-McCuin. “This was my first experience here. It was an incredible environment. I thought that my team played their hearts out and there was a lot that I feel we can build on. For us and where we are trying to go, I thought this was a step forward.”
McPhee-McCuin acknowledged the rivalry is “lopsided” now, but she said it doesn’t have to be about hating the other team.
“The rivalry is about having pride and loving your university,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I wanted our young women to start to see and feel like the belong and they deserve to be there and to compete.”
Salter returns to the Hump
La’Karis “Big Ticket” Salter played in 39 games in two years at MSU before transferring to Jacksonville.
Salter, a 6-1 forward, sat out a year at Jacksonville before playing in 26 games as a redshirt junior. She transferred to Ole Miss after coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin led Jacksonville to take over the program in Oxford.
Salter tied a season-high 27 minutes and recorded her fourth double-digit game (13 points) in her last six outings. She also had four rebounds, three blocked shots, including one of McCowan, and two steals.
“I thought she did well,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I didn’t know what to expect from Big Ticket. I’m just glad she scored, because it would’ve been bad, so I’m glad she played well. Could she have played better? Yes, but she’s coming along and I thought she did a lot of good things for her not to foul out, because she had gotten into some foul trouble. As a senior, I put her out there because seniors have to be able to play through stuff, and I thought her presence alone for the rest of the young women. It was important.”
This and that
MSU has drawn 10,000 or more three times this season, and seven times overall. … McCowan and classmate Jazzmun Holmes recorded their 118th win to move their record to 118-16. They need eight wins to match last year’s senior class for the program wins record (126). … Jodan Danberry (12 points) recorded double-digit points for the 18th time this season. She had a team- and season-high seven assists. … Howard reached double-digit points for the 15th time and recorded her 37th career double-double.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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