Just A Bulldog Minute: A Huge Matchup For Mississippi State Women’s Basketball on Sunday
The Mississippi State Bulldogs will hit the road this weekend to take on their arch-rival Ole Miss. This matchup has major postseason aspirations as both teams are still in the hunt for the coveted double-bye in the SEC tournament.
The Rebels have a 6-4 SEC record, and the Bulldogs sit at 7-4. This will be the second matchup for these Magnolia state schools, as MSU took the first game in Starkville 69-57 on Jan. 14th.
The Bulldogs were led by 6-5 forward Jessika Carter, who scored a game-high 23 points while shooting an impressive 11-15 from the field. MSU played tough defense in this game, especially in the fourth quarter, as the Rebels shot 1-12 from the field.
Carter is coming off a minor injury she suffered last Sunday against Florida, but the Georgia native later returned to the game. Carter needs to be healthy for this matchup due to her success in the first matchup.
MSU will need to improve on defense after giving up 90 points to the Gators. Mjracle Sheppard and Jerkaila Jordan will need to play well on defense for the Bulldogs, and Jordan will likely need to be more active on offense after only scoring eight points in the first matchup.
The Bulldogs dominated this series for the better part of a decade, but when the Rebels hired Yolett McPhee-McCuin as their next head coach, the tide briefly shifted. Now, with Purcell in Starkville, both teams have young and energetic coaches who are hungry and have championship aspirations.
Every rivalry game is intense, but this will undoubtedly have more due to both teams fighting for postseason seeding. The matchup is set for a three p.m. C.T. tip on the SEC Network+.
