Mississippi State suffered its first loss Wednesday night against Miami, but the Bulldogs are still off to a strong start as the season’s first month comes to a close. The Dispatch takes a look here at what has gone right and wrong so far for the Bulldogs, who are 8-1 heading into Sunday’s game at Chattanooga.
Three up
JerKaila Jordan
The senior guard, who spent her first collegiate season in her hometown of New Orleans at Tulane, averaged double-figure scoring in each of her first two years with MSU, but took things to another level in November. Jordan kicked things off with 26 points, tying a Bulldogs career high, against Alcorn State, and has pumped in 24 on two other occasions. Her shot wasn’t falling quite as much in the last two games, and she has made just seven of 31 attempts from 3-point range, but MSU’s offense still runs through Jordan.
Big East transfers
Darrione Rogers (DePaul) and Lauren Park-Lane (Seton Hall) were both in the top five in the Big East last season in both points and assists per game. Head coach Sam Purcell brought in both of them this past offseason, and they have continued their fine work in Starkville. Over her last four games, the 5-foot-3 Park-Lane is averaging more than 14 points and nine assists, with three double-doubles in that span. Rogers, who has started the last two games after previously coming off the bench, broke out with 22 points against Tulsa and is shooting the 3-ball at better than a 40 percent clip for the season.
Discipline
The Bulldogs have committed just 11 fouls per game, the second-fewest among all 348 Division I schools. When Jordan fouled out against the Hurricanes in the final minute, it marked the first time all year an MSU player reached the foul limit. They have still been able to play good defense without fouling, ranking fifth in the Southeastern Conference with 55.4 points allowed per game. MSU’s opponents are also grabbing 31.3 rebounds per game, the fewest in the SEC.
Three down
Post depth
The first domino fell on Nov. 10 against Southeastern Louisiana, when Ramani Parker sustained a season-ending knee injury. Sixth-year center Jessika Carter, coming off a huge year in which she was named second-team all-SEC, has missed the last two games, and Erynn Barnum, who was on the all-conference second team last year at Arkansas, was also out against Miami. Freshman Quinirah Montague, a four-star recruit, missed Wednesday’s game as well with an illness.
Nyayongah Gony, the Bulldogs’ last remaining post player, performed well in an emergency start, but MSU still was outrebounded 49-23 by the Hurricanes. Purcell was hopeful after the game that Carter will be able to return soon, but was less certain regarding Barnum and Montague.
Taking care of the ball
This is really nit-picking here, as there isn’t a whole lot the Bulldogs have done poorly. Still, MSU turned the ball over 18 times in its first game against Alcorn State and also had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in a narrow road win over Belmont. The Bulldogs have undoubtedly improved in this area of late — they only committed three turnovers in a romp last Sunday against Tulsa — but as conference play draws nearer, any turnovers they do commit are more likely to be costly.
Perimeter defense
Again, more of a nit-pick than anything, as this has only popped up in select games and MSU’s opponents are shooting below 30 percent from 3-point range overall. Against Clemson, though, the Bulldogs allowed the Tigers to shoot 11-of-24 from deep, with Nya Valentine and Ruby Whitehorn each going 3-for-5. In the Miami game, MSU’s efforts to contain the Hurricanes in the paint without the size to do so allowed the visitors numerous open looks from behind the arc, and Miami finished 11-for-22 from long range.
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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 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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