Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer confirmed Monday night that redshirt sophomore guard Jacaira “Iggy” Allen is no longer with the program.
Allen, a 5-foot-10 guard from Pompano Beach, Florida (Dillard High School), sat out the 2017-18 season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason. Schaefer said numerous times last season Allen looked great in the offseason and in the preseason and was a contender for a starting spot. He declined to comment on Allen’s decision to leave MSU.
Allen averaged 5.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes in MSU’s three games in August in Italy. Schaefer said Allen played well at times on the three-game trip.
As a freshman, Allen averaged 2.7 points in 20 games, including three in the Southeastern Conference.
Coming out of Dillard High, Allen was ranked 77th nationally by ESPN and Collegiate Girls Report, No. 60 by Blue Star Basketball, and 66th by All-Star Girls Report. She was nominated to be a McDonald’s All-American.
Last week, freshman Daphane White, a 6-5 post player from Ocean Springs (St. Martin High) left the program to transfer to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston. Schaefer declined to comment on White’s decision to leave MSU.
White, a five-star prospect and the No. 45 player in the Class of 2018 according to espnW, averaged 25.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 5.7 blocked shots per game last season.
White appeared in all three games in MSU’s overseas trip. She averaged 3.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per game.
Allen is the fourth player to transfer from MSU in the past two seasons. Prior to the 2017-18 season, forward Ameshya Williams left the program. Following a program-record 37-win season, forward Jonika Garvin left the program to transfer to Palm Beach Atlantic.
n In related news, MSU will hold its annual Maroon-White Scrimmage at 6 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 23, at Humphrey Coliseum.
Admission is free. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Fans can enter through the Mize Pavilion entrance, and the clear bag policy and walk-through metal detector security screening policies will be in place.
Schaefer’s squad will divide into teams and challenge each other before coming together to take on the men’s practice squad in the two-hour event.
MSU will play host to NCAA Division II national champion Central Missouri in an exhibition game at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at Humphrey Coliseum. It will open the season against Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. Tuesday, The Hump Nov. 6, at the Hump.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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