PREVIEW: WBK Hoops at Greater Victoria Invitational

by Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

VICTORIA, British Columbia – As part of an eight-team field, 10th-ranked Mississippi State is set to compete in the Greater Victoria Invitational on November 28-30 at the CARSA Performance Gym.

The Bulldogs (8-0) opened the tournament with a 73-38 win against San Francisco followed up with an 83-58 victory over Green Bay to advance to the championship game, MSU will take on No. 3 Stanford on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CT.

Fans can stream the whole tournament online through FloHoops (LINK) with a paid subscription. A monthly subscription costs $29.99 per month and can be canceled at any time. NOTE: If fans purchase a subscription for the Greater Victoria Invitational, the month subscription will also cover State's two games in the Duel in the Desert tournament in Las Vegas on Dec. 19-21.

The tournament will also be carried on the MSU Radio Network and can be streamed free on HailState.com/plus and the Tune In app.

Against San Francisco, State's defense was locked in all game long, allowing a season-low 38 points and holding the Dons (3-4) to a .219 shooting clip during the final three quarters of the game. The Bulldogs forced 21 turnovers in the game, which resulted in 27 points for MSU.

After a slow start vs. Green Bay, Mississippi State took over the game on both ends of the floor in the second half, outscoring the Phoenix 45-22 after halftime. After GB (4-3) knocked down six 3-pointers in the first half, State held them without another one for the remainder of the game and allowed them to shoot just 26 percent from the field. On offense, Jordan Danberry and Rickea Jackson were lights out, combining for 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting to allow the Bulldogs to pull away. Danberry finished with a game-high 21 points, four assists and three rebounds. Jackson added a career-high 18 points while going 7-of-9 from the floor.

Stanford enters the matchup coming off wins against California Baptist and No. 18 Syracuse to earn a spot in the championship. Since the 2016-17 season, Mississippi State is 9-6 against teams ranked inside the top 10, including three wins against top-5 opponents.

State is looking to win its first regular-season tournament since 2017, when MSU brought home the title from its trip to the Duel in the Desert.

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."

Bulldog Bites
• Mississippi State is coming off a 2018-19 campaign that saw the Bulldogs post a 15-1 conference record to clinch the second title in program history. State followed that up by winning the team's first ever SEC Tournament Championship with a commanding 101-70 victory over Arkansas and then earning a third straight Elite Eight appearance.
• The Bulldogs entered the 2019-20 season with their sights set on a third consecutive SEC title, a feat that no program has accomplished outright since 2001-04.
• Mississippi State owns the nation's longest road winning streak at 11 games.
• With the victory at Marquette on Monday night, Vic Schaefer's claimed his 200th win at MSU in just his 256 game, making him the second-fastest coach to ever achieve that with an SEC program.
• State broke the MSU single-game scoring record with a 124-43 victory against Murray State (11/15/19). The previous record was set on February 24, 1986, when Mississippi State defeated Judson College, 117-35.
• Graduate guard Jordan Danberry was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA in August after not redshirting when she transferred to Mississippi State in January 2017. She is currently pursuing an MBA after earning her bachelor's degree in Business Economics last December.
• Chloe Bibby ranked No. 22 in the country and third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting a 45-percent clip from beyond the arc, at the time of her injury last season. She's averaging 7.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game early on this year. In the last two games, she's grabbed 24 rebounds.
• As two of Mississippi State's top returners from a year ago, Jordan Danberry and Chloe Bibby earned preseason All-SEC recognition from league coaches. Danberry earned first-team honors as State's leading returner in points (13.1 ppg), assists (3.5 apg) and steals (1.8 spg), while Bibby earned the nod with second team recognition.
• Although it's still very early in the season, Jessika Carter has been a major bright spot on the team, leading the team with 18.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. To put into perspective how well Carter is playing, 2019 SEC Player of the Year Teaira McCowan was averaging 18.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game through the first six games last year.
• After being ranked No. 10 in every AP Top 25 polls this season, State has been in the AP poll 98 straight weeks, including 62 weeks in a row in the Top 10.

Schaefer Becomes Second-Fastest Coach to Win 200 Games at SEC Program
• Vic Schaefer has been one of the most successful coaches in women's basketball since joining Mississippi State. With State's victory at Marquette on Nov. 25, 2019, the two-time National Coach of the Year became the second-fastest coach to reach 200 victories at an SEC school.
• Achieving the milestone in just 256 games, Schaefer ranks behind only Georgia's Andy Landers, who reached his 200th victory in 251 games.
• The next closest coach to have accomplished the feat is Auburn's Joe Ciampi (258), while legendary head coach Pat Summitt reached victory No. 200 in her 259th game at Tennessee.
• Also worth noting, Schaefer was the fourth-fastest coach to reach the mark amongst active coaches at their current program, trailing only Duke's Joanne P. McCallie (240), Baylor's Kim Mulkey (245) and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (255).

Carter Having a Breakout Season
• Through six games, Jessika Carter has been one of the best players in the SEC.
• For the season, the sophomore forward ranks inside the top five in the league in both scoring (18.3 ppg/5th) and rebounding (13.0 rpg/2nd).
• Carter has led State in rebounding five games and is the only player to have scored in double-figures in each contest. She has also posted three double-doubles.
• Carter was named SEC Player of the Week after dominating in State's wins over Murray State and Troy, averaging 22.0 points, 16.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
• Against Murray State, Carter recorded the first double-double of her career with 25 points and 18 rebounds, both of which are personal bests at the time. She had already notched the double-double before the end of the first quarter as MSU went on to set the program's single-game scoring record with 124 points against the Racers.
• Carter was all over the glass at Marquette, grabbing a career-high 21 boards to go along with 14 points.

MSU Set for Greater Victoria Invitational
• Mississippi State women's basketball will once again be taking its talents outside of the U.S., heading to Victoria, British Columbia to compete in the Greater Victoria Invitational on Nov. 28-30.
• The Bulldogs are a part of an eight-team field that consists of No. 3 Stanford, No. 17 Syracuse, Green Bay, Houston, Bowling Green, San Francisco and Cal Baptist.
• State opens the tournament against San Francisco. The Bulldogs will then play either Green Bay or Bowling Green on the following day.
• The other half of the bracket includes matchups between Syracuse and Houston along with Stanford and Cal Baptist.
• The Bulldogs' matchup against San Francisco will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. State owns a perfect 5-0 record against the field all time, boasting wins over Houston (3), Syracuse (1) and Green Bay (1).
• The Greater Victoria Invitational finalized State's non-conference schedule, which includes contests against West Virginia, Marquette and Little Rock. MSU will also compete in the Duel in the Desert tournament, opening with South Florida before taking on either Virginia or UNLV.

Bulldogs in the AP Rankings
• On Nov. 24, 2014, the Associated Press voted Mississippi State back into the top 25 for the first time in four years. With MSU earning a spot in the preseason poll heading into the 2019-20 season, the Bulldogs have now spent 98 consecutive weeks inside the AP Top 25, marking the longest streak in program history.
• During the stretch, State has been ranked inside the top 10 for 62 straight weeks, a streak that is also active heading into this season as MSU was ranked No. 10 in this year's preseason poll.
• Since beginning the streak, MSU has been ranked as a top-five team for 33 weeks, including a stretch of 14 straight weeks during the 2017-18 season.
• When the preseason rankings came out on Oct. 30, Mississippi State earned its eighth preseason ranking in program history, checking in at No. 10 in the country.

State's Offense Among Best in the Country
• Mississippi State has been nearly unstoppable on offense this season, as the Bulldogs sit at 6-0.
• Although it's still early in the year, State leads the nation in scoring offense at 97.5 ppg and ranks ninth in field-goal percentage with a .498 clip.
• Five players are shooting 50 percent or better from the floor, including four with a 60 percent clip. It begins with the starters, as Myah Taylor (.704) and Jessika Carter (.621) have been very efficient thus far. Carter ranks 27th in the country in field-goal percentage.
• Another key to MSU's early offensive success has been its ability to take care of the ball and make the extra passes for better shots. State is second SEC and 22nd in the country in assist/turnover ratio (1.34).
• On the rare occasion when the Bulldogs aren't knocking down shots, State is crashing the glass to get a second opportunity at a basket. With 111 offensive rebounds on the season, Mississippi State has gotten the rebound on 50 percent of its missed baskets and turned that into 138 second-chance points.

PREVIEW: WBK Hoops at Greater Victoria Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Chloe Bibby

Jessika Carter

Jordan Danberry

Rickea Jackson

Teaira McCowan

Myah Taylor

Mississippi State University Athletics