State Rolls in 67-53 Win vs. Georgia

Monday, February 3

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

20-3,8-1SEC

Georgia

12-10,3-6SEC

Georgia

Mississippi St.

State Rolls in 67-53 Win vs. Georgia

February 03, 2020 | Women's Basketball

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by Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Behind another career night from Rickea Jackson, eighth-ranked Mississippi State cruised to a 67-53 victory against Georgia to cap its three-game home stretch at Humphrey Coliseum.

Jackson posted her second-consecutive game with 20 points, going off for a career-best 24 on 8-of-16 shooting to go along with two rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist. The performance marked her fourth 20-point effort during SEC play, surpassing Victoria Vivians for the most by a freshman Bulldog under Vic Schaefer.

After starting 1-of-6 shooting from the field, Jackson caught fire to spark State's offense, knocking down seven of her final 10 shots. She scored 18 of her points in the second and third quarters to help Mississippi State (20-3, 8-1 SEC) outscore Georgia 45-23 and put the game out of reach.

Jessika Carter had another solid performance, notching her eighth double-double of the season behind 15 points and 11 boards. She and Jackson were the main reason MSU held a 40-22 scoring advantage in the paint.

On the other end of the floor, Mississippi State was impressive defensively, forcing 25 turnovers and converting that into 24 points. MSU had 15 steals in the game and three blocks. Jordan Danberry paced the Bulldogs with five steals to go along with five assists, three rebounds, two points and a block.

"I'm really proud of my team tonight and proud of our defensive effort," said Schaefer. "I'm proud of Myah Taylor running our team tonight. She did a great job of keeping us in what we're doing. You know, we didn't come out and light it up in the first quarter. We were really bad, actually, in the first half. I think we shot 29 percent, and still, we were able to have a nine-point lead at halftime. I think you got to tip your hat to our defense. They really did a good job. A good indicator for us, if you're playing hard is if you're forcing turnovers, and we forced 25 tonight and did a really good job of taking some things away."

State got solid looks early on in the game but couldn't get its shots to fall, connecting on just 21 percent of its attempts during the first quarter. Despite the slow start and Georgia shooting a 50 percent clip in the period, MSU only trailed by two-possessions at the break, 15-11.

Mississippi State got things turned around in the second stanza, beginning the frame on a 15-0 run to take the lead. UGA missed its first seven shots and didn't record its first points until 4:15 left in the half. Jackson had the hot hand in the quarter, dropping 10 points to help MSU take a 34-25 lead going into halftime.

Jackson's strong play continued into the third period, shooting 4-for-4 from the field and scoring eight points. Meanwhile, State's defensive efforts forced eight turnovers in the quarter, allowing MSU to extend its lead to 56-38. Mississippi State cruised to the 14-point in the final frame. The victory marked State's seventh-consecutive 20-win season under Schaefer. Before his arrival, MSU had only achieved that feat four times.

Up next, State travels to take on No. 23 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network and can be streamed on the MSU Radio Network.

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."