Mississippi State
2-0,0-0SEC
South Dakota State
1-1,0-0Summit League
Strong Second Half Propels Women's Basketball to a Win Over South Dakota State
November 12, 2021 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – A strong second half from the Mississippi State women's basketball team propelled the Bulldogs to a 76-71victory over South Dakota State Friday night inside the Humphrey Coliseum. Mississippi State improves to 2-0 on the season, while South Dakota State falls to 1-1.
JerKaila Jordan had a game to remember on Friday. The sophomore from New Orleans recorded the first double-double of her career with 17-points and 11 rebounds. Jordan was 6-for-11 from the floor and added two blocked shots, two steals and an assist to her stat line.
Jordan wasn't the only star on the floor for the Bulldogs, however. Rickea Jackson followed up her 26-point opening night performance with a team-high 23-points, including a 5-for-6 outing at the charity stripe. Anastasia Hayes was the final Bulldog in double-figures on Friday with 14 points and four assists. Myah Taylor paced the Bulldogs with seven assists while Denae Carter had seven points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
The first half was not kind to Mississippi State as South Dakota State led for much of the first quarter and all of the second before taking an eight-point advantage into the locker room. But that all changed in the second half.
"[We made] no major adjustments, to be honest with you, other than I didn't feel like South Dakota had seen our best. It's what I had anticipated coming in - they are a top-tier basketball program with great coaching. They really know how to play the game, and we're just not going to get the easy look time and time again. You're going to have to fight for it, which means you have to continually space and work."
The Bulldogs entered the third-quarter trailing 31-39 before using a 16-6 run out of the break to take a 47-45 lead. Although State outscored SDSU 45-32 in the second half, MSU didn't enjoy a lead larger than nine points in the contest.
State's defensive intensity played a significant role in the solid second half. MSU forced South Dakota State into eight turnovers, blocked five shots and recorded four steals. Of those five blocks, four came in the fourth quarter alone and Carter had two of them.
With the momentum firmly on its side, MSU was able to build its largest lead of the night, nine points, late in the fourth quarter. Jackson scored eight points in the fourth while Jordan added another six as Mississippi State would complete the comeback with a 76-71 victory.
"[Anastasia] Hayes was really carrying it, leading it, and directing some traffic, which was really nice. She carried [that] load the whole game, but there were certain times where I was like, 'We needed that,' which allowed Rickea to get some rhythm. Before that happened, JerKaila [Jordan] is doing an amazing job, then [Aislynn Hayes] came in, and it was really fun down the stretch watching [Aislynn] and JerKaila trade minutes and both be spectacular in what they did. Obviously, Denae [Carter] came up with some big loose balls and offensive rebounds against a pretty strong midwestern team."
Up Next
Mississippi State will host Alcorn State on Sunday, Nov. 14. at 5 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK.
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