Mississippi State will begin its third year under head coach Sam Purcell with five straight home games, but the Bulldogs’ non-conference schedule will take them all around the United States and even beyond.
MSU opens the season against Memphis at Humphrey Coliseum on Nov. 7, and continues the homestand against Alcorn State, Alabama State, Chattanooga and Mercer. The Bulldogs fell to Chattanooga on the road last year, and the Mercer game will mark the return of Bears head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, who was an assistant coach under Purcell last year.
After that, MSU heads to Orlando, Florida for the WBCA Showcase on Nov. 24, where the Bulldogs will take on Jacksonville. Purcell’s team then travels to the Cayman Islands Classic over Thanksgiving for two games against opponents to be announced.
To open December, MSU will face Georgia Tech in Atlanta as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge, then make the trip to Chicago for a game against Chicago State and head coach Corry Irvin, another former Bulldogs assistant. On Dec. 14, MSU faces Belmont at Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo as part of a doubleheader with the Bulldog men’s team, which will play McNeese in the same venue that day.
MSU has two more true road games in December at Louisiana-Monroe and Maryland-Eastern Shore. Then, after a weeklong break for Christmas, the Bulldogs return to The Hump for the first time in more than a month on Dec. 29 for their final non-conference game against South Carolina State.
Last year, MSU finished 23-12 overall with an 8-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs looked like locks to reach their second straight NCAA Tournament under Purcell before enduring a late five-game losing streak, then dropping their first game in the SEC Tournament. They instead played in the WBIT, winning two games before losing in the quarterfinals to Penn State.
Fifth-year senior guard Jerkaila Jordan returns as the headliner this winter after averaging 16.2 points per game in 2023-24. Junior sharpshooter Debreasha Powe is MSU’s only other returning starter, with the Bulldogs retooling both their roster and coaching staff over the offseason. Seven newcomers have joined the team via the transfer portal.
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