STARKVILLE — Mississippi State wasted no time giving the 6,000 or so elementary school students at Humphrey Coliseum a reason to scream their lungs out Wednesday.
The Bulldogs scored the game’s first 13 points, holding Alabama State scoreless for more than five minutes after the opening tip, and cruised to an 83-29 victory over the Hornets on Education Day.
“That first five minutes was probably the best basketball I’ve seen them play,” MSU head coach Sam Purcell said. “I probably did them a disservice by taking all five (starters) out. It was a game that I felt comfortable we were going to win, so I was trying to give a lot of different people opportunities in an awesome atmosphere with a quick turnaround. They were dialed in, so that gives me a lot of excitement moving forward.”
Center Madina Okot, who broke out with a double-double in her Bulldogs debut against Memphis last week, had another one with 17 points and 12 rebounds. She was 8-for-9 from the floor and added five steals, helping MSU (3-0) force 26 turnovers. Alabama State (2-1) had more turnovers than points until late in the fourth quarter.
“Today was a character game. We’re just learning Madina,” Purcell said. “She came out with great energy. That’s what I always say separates her. When you’re trying to have team basketball, you have to have people willing to do the dirty work, and that’s what Madina does. She just finds a way to track that ball and go get it. She sprinted the floor hard, so that was exciting to see in her development.”
The trio of Eniya Russell, Debreasha Powe and Terren Ward combined to go 9-for-14 from 3-point range, with Russell tallying 16 points and eight assists and Powe and Ward each adding 14 points. The Bulldogs coasted despite another off day from Jerkaila Jordan, who had just five points on 2-for-9 shooting.
Ward, a transfer from Georgia Southern, finished second in the Sun Belt Conference last year in both scoring and rebounding. She came to Starkville alongside her former head coach Anita Howard, who joined MSU’s staff as an assistant coach in the spring, but saw just four minutes of action last Thursday against Memphis and didn’t play at all Sunday against Alcorn State. In just 14 minutes Wednesday, she had 14 points and eight rebounds and was 3-for-4 from distance.
“It felt great,” Ward said. “Coming out this game and playing hard and doing it for my teammates meant a lot.”
MSU already led by 27 at halftime, then held the Hornets to just one point in the third quarter. Alabama State missed its first 17 shots of the second half, and more than half of the visitors’ points came from Kaitlyn Bryant, who had 16 points and was 3-for-5 from behind the arc.
“The starters set the tone for the game, and the people who come in (off the bench), they do the same thing,” Russell said. “When we start, it motivates the bench and the crowd and all the kids out there today. They gave us the energy to keep going today and start that game off how we did.”
The Bulldogs are back in action Sunday at home against Chattanooga, which defeated MSU 59-53 last December. The Mocs finished 28-5 a year ago and won the Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles to reach their second straight NCAA Tournament.
Chattanooga is 2-1 this year under new head coach Deandra Schirmer, who went 30-3 last season at Division II Valdosta State.
“We know they’re aggressive. We know they’re not going to lay down,” Powe said. “We lost to them last year, so I guess you could say it’s a revenge tour, but we’re just really excited to play them. It’s going to be a good game of basketball.”
You can help your community
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 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
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 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
