STARKVILLE —  Mississippi State women’s basketball is off to another winning start in the 2025-26 season. Head coach Sam Purcell’s group started 4-0 for the third straight season, wrapping up a dominant win over Jackson State last week at the end of a four-game home stretch. 

Tonight, the Bulldogs (4-0) have their first Power Four matchup at Texas Tech, in what is also the first true road game of the season. A strong opening win against a gritty Davidson team was followed by three big wins over Georgia State, Valley State and Jackson State, but now a test against a Big 12 power awaits out west. 

“I have a ton of respect for Texas Tech. They just beat Arkansas, but the most impressive part about them is how they get after it,” Purcell said. “They are long and lanky, they have a ton of portal kids who are veterans and can flat-out play. I’m excited for a game against a program that values women’s basketball like we do here at Mississippi State.”

The Red Raiders (5-0) are fresh off wins over SMU and Arkansas in their last two outings, beating the Razorbacks in Lubbock last weekend with five players reaching double digits in points, led by guard Bailey Maupin’s 19 points. 

Tech held a slight advantage in rebounds and points in the paint, but most importantly, forced five steals and five blocks to help establish and keep an early lead. 

Purcell pointed out that the Red Raiders are currently 12th in the nation in blocked shots and present a challenge in size and physicality that his team has yet to face this season. He is excited for the test, as well as some potential mismatches with his team’s offense, but he also knows that nothing will be given. 

“I tried to show them some clips of how much fun it can be to go against the press,” he said of facing the Texas Tech defense. “They’re going to gamble, and we can take advantage of that, but if they block our shot, we have to recover quickly, because they’ll beat us in transition, and then momentum happens. We need to be aware of that.”

MSU has had its own impressive start to the season with a new-look lineup. Junior transfer Favour Nwaedozi has led the team in scoring twice and produced three double-doubles in short order. Against the Tigers last Thursday, she scored a new personal-best 18 points as one of six Bulldogs to score in double digits. 

Senior guards Chandler Prater and Destiney McPhaul have done their part to lead the young group, but true freshmen Jaylah Lampley and Madison Francis have hit the ground running to boost the team’s rebounding and scoring. The pair averages around five rebounds per game each, as well as double-digit points, despite coming off the bench. 

The pair were expected to contribute early, but they’re doing much more than making an impression so far. Francis continues to grow as a scorer from multiple spaces on the floor, and Lampley has stood out as a rebounder from the guard spot. 

“It’s early in her career, but she might be one of my top rebounders I’ve ever coached in my life,” Purcell said of Lampley. “I’ve never seen a kid, every single shot thinks its a miss and go after it. There was a part of practice yesterday, we miss a transition three, and here comes Jaylah Lampley. Everybody’s like: ‘Dang that kid has a motor.’” 

The change of pace that comes with facing the Red Raiders will be difficult to match, but it’s the sort of adjustment that will suit the Bulldogs well down the road in conference play. Purcell sees the potential, and now it’s time to realize it. 

“I always want to be known as blue-collar, hardworking dawgs. A four-quarter team,” he said when asked what he wants from his team. “You play in (the SEC), you’re playing the best of the best, so any national championship team has got to punch for four quarters. Outside of that, our defense has been phenomenal, and you’ve got to be a two-way team to get stops on the defensive end and then be a team that’s willing to share the ball and play the game the right way. I think that’s what we’re slowly seeing right now.”

The Bulldogs face the Red Raiders at 6 p.m. The game will not be televised, but will stream on ESPN+.