Mississippi State treated its fans to a show in its first game at Humphrey Coliseum in more than five weeks, closing out non-conference play with a stress-free 95-47 blowout win over South Carolina State on Sunday.
After wins that were closer than they needed to be against Belmont, Louisiana-Monroe and Maryland-Eastern Shore, MSU (13-1) put lowly SCSU away early, forcing 28 turnovers and turning them into 41 points. South Carolina State (1-15) shot 47.4 percent, an impressive number against the Southeastern Conference’s best field goal percentage defense, but MSU attempted 26 more shots than did the visitors.
“Us being able to go home for Christmas and spend time with our families, it was like a reset in our minds, which is what we needed,” fifth-year senior guard Jerkaila Jordan said. “I was just glad everyone was able to go home and enjoy themselves. As soon as we got back to school, it was time to go back to work.”
MSU used a balanced offensive attack to pull away, with six players scoring in double figures. South Carolina State did not have anyone who could match up with the 6-foot, 6-inch Madina Okot who, coming off a career-best 26 points against UMES, did not miss a shot Sunday. Okot led all scorers with 16 points and was 7-for-7 from the floor, also making both of her free throw attempts.
Her production was a byproduct of MSU sharing the ball as well as it has all season. Head coach Sam Purcell’s team had 27 assists on 38 made field goals, led by point guard Denim DeShields with nine dimes.
“We were just being unselfish,” DeShields said. “When we’re playing against better competition, those things are going to be important. Trusting each other and making the extra pass, we did a good job of that today.”
Destiney McPhaul added 14 points off the bench and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range, while Chandler Prater tied a season high with 14 points of her own and added eight rebounds. Terren Ward saw her most extensive action of the year, scoring 12 points in 21 minutes, and Eniya Russell and Jordan chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
McPhaul also led the charge on the defensive end with a career-high five steals. MSU’s length bothered South Carolina State all day long, leading to a 23-6 edge in fast-break points and a 42-18 edge in paint points.
“Terren Ward and Chandler have been two of the biggest glue pieces, and I’m happy to see them have great (games),” Purcell said. “(McPhaul) provides scoring at a high rate. Her ability to get to the hole and finish is crazy. Some of the shots she’s made with her Euro step and her long, lanky finish is fun to watch. But when she’s also shooting the ball with pull-ups and 3-pointers, our opponents have a long night to try and figure things out.”
MSU’s size advantage helped the hosts more than double up SCSU on the boards, including a 14-2 edge on the offensive glass which led to a 15-3 advantage in second-chance points. There was some sloppiness early on — MSU turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, but took better care of the ball the rest of the way with nine turnovers over the final 30 minutes.
Prater made her second straight start in place of junior sharpshooter Debreasha Powe, who remains out with a foot injury that she sustained on Dec. 17 at ULM. Purcell said he expects Powe to miss MSU’s first two conference games against No. 16 Kentucky and No. 2 South Carolina, with a projected return on Jan. 9 against No. 9 Oklahoma.
MSU opens SEC play Thursday night against the Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky. It will be a return game for Russell, who spent the last two years at Kentucky, and the first of eight conference games against teams ranked in the latest AP Top 25.
“One big thing we’re going to face in Kentucky coming up is their length,” Purcell said. “They lead the SEC in blocked shots, so we’re going to have to do a great job moving (the ball) so we can get uncontested shots.”
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