Mississippi State remained perfect by winning on three consecutive days over the weekend at the Van Chancellor Classic in Katy, Texas, moving up four spots to No. 21 in the AP poll as a result.
The Bulldogs (8-0) opened the weekend by outlasting Clemson in an 81-78 thriller on Friday night, led by 24 points from JerKaila Jordan. Four other MSU players — Jessika Carter, Lauren Park-Lane, Debreasha Powe and Darrione Rogers — were also in double figures, and Park-Lane collected her first double-double in a Bulldogs uniform with 11 points and 10 assists. Powe also added four steals.
In all, MSU finished with 24 assists on 32 made field goals, overcoming a strong 3-point shooting performance by the Tigers (6-3). A 16-2 Bulldogs run in the second quarter turned a five-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Clemson trailed by 10 early in the fourth and trimmed the deficit to a single point, but clutch free throws by Powe and Rogers iced the victory.
The following day, MSU and Arkansas-Pine Bluff were tied after a quarter before the Bulldogs raced out to a 10-point halftime lead and won 77-86. Jordan again led the way with 20 points, Powe added 15 and Park-Lane and Erynn Barnum each chipped in with 12. Barnum also pulled down 12 rebounds for her second double-double since transferring to MSU from Arkansas.
The Golden Lions (1-6) got as close as three points behind in the second half, but the Bulldogs quickly pulled away as Carter overcame a rough afternoon to score six of her nine points in the fourth quarter.
Carter did not play Sunday against Tulsa, and head coach Sam Purcell also missed the game with an illness, though MSU expects him to be back on the bench soon. With assistant coach Michelle Clark-Heard filling in, the Bulldogs did not miss a beat, thumping the Golden Hurricane 102-58 and scoring at least 24 points in each quarter.
Powe and Rogers led the scoring with 24 and 22 points, respectively. Jordan finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Park-Lane had 14 points and 10 assists. MSU made 14 of 29 shots from 3-point range and was 16-for-18 from the free throw line. Barnum and Mjracle Sheppard also finished with 10 points each. The Bulldogs turned the ball over just three times against Tulsa (5-3), their fewest in a single game since February of 2009.
MSU returns home Wednesday to host Miami in a matchup of unbeatens in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. The Hurricanes (5-0) fell to eventual national champion LSU in the NCAA regional finals last year, coming up one game short of a Final Four appearance. Miami’s leading scorer from that team, Haley Cavinder, has moved on, but the Hurricanes are still a formidable opponent.
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