Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
Women's Basketball Off To A Sizzling Start
November 23, 2021 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – For the seventh time in the past eight years, Mississippi State women's basketball has started the season off 4-0.
The Bulldogs have won those games by an average margin of 24.5 points and are second in the Southeastern Conference scoring 86.8 points per game under interim head coach Doug Novak. However, all of those contests have been within the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum and will face their first tests away from home later this week.
"It's definitely exciting to get off to a 4-0 start, especially having four home games and playing in front of our fans," said graduate guard Caterrion Thompson. "Each game we're just looking to build and get better. Having a 4-0 start to the season is great, especially as we get ready to go down to Florida for the holiday tournament."
MSU is set to participate in the Daytona Beach Invitational against Dayton on Thursday at 11 a.m. and Michigan on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Dayton is off to a 3-1 start to the season while the Wolverines are also perfect at 5-0.
Not only will it be the Bulldogs' first action away from Starkville this season, it will also be the first time they've played in Daytona in program history.
"It's going to be different playing outside of the Hump," Novak said. "This is quite an environment and we're pretty comfortable here. But this is the next phase of what we need moving into SEC play. That's why I think this will be a great test for us."
The Daytona Beach Invitational will be the first of three tournaments Mississippi State participates in before conference play begins. The Bulldogs will also battle Oklahoma on the road as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Dec. 4 and will also host Troy, Jackson State and South Carolina State on consecutive days from Dec. 18-20 as part of the Mississippi State MTE.
Although it is not a true road trip, excursions like this week's trip to Daytona are an excellent opportunity for a young team filled mostly with new players to the program a chance to bond off the court.
"What they don't realize when it's all said and done, they may not remember the shot the made or missed or even if they won the game but they will remember these trips," Novak said. "It's crazy when you get older the stuff that you remember. Our jobs as coaches are to create memorable moments and hopefully this is going to be one of them for us."
Novak arrived in Starkville on Sept. 7 as an assistant coach and took on the head coaching duties on Oct. 12 after the resignation of Nikki McCray-Penson. And although his tenure with the team has been short, the Bulldogs seem to be fitting in just fine in his system. Â
"We're adapting well and he's allowing us to play freely," Thompson said. "He's communicating well so honestly when we go out there we can just flow and we're not concentrating on a thousand things. It's easy to go out and just play basketball and that's what he's all about."
Rickea Jackson is currently tied for the league lead averaging 22 points per game while Myah Taylor tops the conference with 8.5 assists and four steals a contest. Jackson is also second in the SEC with three blocks a contest.
JerKaila Jordan is second on the team in scoring at 19.5 points and ranks fourth in the conference shooting 55.8 percent from the field. Anastasia Hayes is the other Bulldogs producing double figures at 16.3 points per game.
"Between JerKaila and 'Annie', those are weapons on the floor added with Myah and Rickea," Novak said. "There's no one that's singled out. They're playing off of each other. One night, somebody has 20, someone has 15 and the others have 10. It's just whatever the game is calling for. You put all of your egos aside and figure out what this team needs. Those four players are really doing an outstanding job."
That quartet is also helping bring along younger players like freshmen Denae Carter, who ranks fifth in the league with 2.3 blocks while also 8.5 averaging points and seven rebounds an outing.
"Our upperclassmen bring a lot of energy to the team and we feed off of that," Carter said. "That really helps us be aggressive and push forward."
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The Bulldogs have won those games by an average margin of 24.5 points and are second in the Southeastern Conference scoring 86.8 points per game under interim head coach Doug Novak. However, all of those contests have been within the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum and will face their first tests away from home later this week.
"It's definitely exciting to get off to a 4-0 start, especially having four home games and playing in front of our fans," said graduate guard Caterrion Thompson. "Each game we're just looking to build and get better. Having a 4-0 start to the season is great, especially as we get ready to go down to Florida for the holiday tournament."
MSU is set to participate in the Daytona Beach Invitational against Dayton on Thursday at 11 a.m. and Michigan on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Dayton is off to a 3-1 start to the season while the Wolverines are also perfect at 5-0.
Not only will it be the Bulldogs' first action away from Starkville this season, it will also be the first time they've played in Daytona in program history.
"It's going to be different playing outside of the Hump," Novak said. "This is quite an environment and we're pretty comfortable here. But this is the next phase of what we need moving into SEC play. That's why I think this will be a great test for us."
The Daytona Beach Invitational will be the first of three tournaments Mississippi State participates in before conference play begins. The Bulldogs will also battle Oklahoma on the road as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Dec. 4 and will also host Troy, Jackson State and South Carolina State on consecutive days from Dec. 18-20 as part of the Mississippi State MTE.
Although it is not a true road trip, excursions like this week's trip to Daytona are an excellent opportunity for a young team filled mostly with new players to the program a chance to bond off the court.
"What they don't realize when it's all said and done, they may not remember the shot the made or missed or even if they won the game but they will remember these trips," Novak said. "It's crazy when you get older the stuff that you remember. Our jobs as coaches are to create memorable moments and hopefully this is going to be one of them for us."
Novak arrived in Starkville on Sept. 7 as an assistant coach and took on the head coaching duties on Oct. 12 after the resignation of Nikki McCray-Penson. And although his tenure with the team has been short, the Bulldogs seem to be fitting in just fine in his system. Â
"We're adapting well and he's allowing us to play freely," Thompson said. "He's communicating well so honestly when we go out there we can just flow and we're not concentrating on a thousand things. It's easy to go out and just play basketball and that's what he's all about."
Rickea Jackson is currently tied for the league lead averaging 22 points per game while Myah Taylor tops the conference with 8.5 assists and four steals a contest. Jackson is also second in the SEC with three blocks a contest.
JerKaila Jordan is second on the team in scoring at 19.5 points and ranks fourth in the conference shooting 55.8 percent from the field. Anastasia Hayes is the other Bulldogs producing double figures at 16.3 points per game.
"Between JerKaila and 'Annie', those are weapons on the floor added with Myah and Rickea," Novak said. "There's no one that's singled out. They're playing off of each other. One night, somebody has 20, someone has 15 and the others have 10. It's just whatever the game is calling for. You put all of your egos aside and figure out what this team needs. Those four players are really doing an outstanding job."
That quartet is also helping bring along younger players like freshmen Denae Carter, who ranks fifth in the league with 2.3 blocks while also 8.5 averaging points and seven rebounds an outing.
"Our upperclassmen bring a lot of energy to the team and we feed off of that," Carter said. "That really helps us be aggressive and push forward."
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Players Mentioned
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