Mississippi State sharpshooter Debreasha Powe, coming off three seasons with the Bulldogs in which she started 98 out of 99 games, has entered the transfer portal.
Powe was an immediate target of head coach Sam Purcell after the former Louisville assistant was hired in 2022. Widely considered the top recruit from Mississippi in her class out of Meridian, Powe was the 2021 MaxPreps Mississippi Player of the Year and made an instant impact upon her arrival in Starkville.
Over her three years at MSU, Powe has averaged 8.5 points per game and shot 40 percent from 3-point range in each of the last two seasons. She is majoring in communication with a focus in broadcast and digital journalism and is on track to graduate in three years.
Purcell also landed his first commitment out of the portal Thursday, adding forward Kharyssa Richardson from rival Ole Miss. Richardson played at Auburn as a freshman, then spent the last two years in Oxford, where she mostly came off the bench. As a sophomore in 2023-24, she averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, but both of those numbers regressed this past season. Richardson is from Douglasville, Georgia, and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Assuming Powe ends up elsewhere next season, the Bulldogs are losing their three leading scorers from the backcourt with Jerkaila Jordan and Eniya Russell out of eligibility. Destiney McPhaul, Chandler Prater and Denim DeSheilds can all return, as can center Madina Okot. MSU is bringing in a highly-ranked incoming freshman class headlined by Jaylah Lampley and Madison Francis.
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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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
