Tuesday, November 9
Starkville
6:00 PM
Mississippi State
1-0,0-0SEC
91
vs
62
Alabama State
0-1,0-0SWAC
1
2
3
4
F
Alabama St.
23
8
15
16
62
Mississippi St.
30
23
19
19
91
Women’s Basketball Opens Season with Win Over Alabama State
November 09, 2021 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – The 2021-22 campaign got off on the right foot Tuesday night inside the Humphrey Coliseum. The Mississippi State women's basketball team defeated Alabama State 91-62 in front of an opening-night crowd of 4,439. Tuesday night's victory was made even more unique, as it was the first win for interim head coach Doug Novak at Mississippi State.
"It felt like every other win I have had in my career, to be honest with you. It is just one game," Doug Novak said. "I felt great about our rhythm at practice yesterday. I felt great about the win in our game-day practice. The Hump is an amazing place to play, and I know it's just getting started. What's been done here is a pretty cool thing. I am very humbled to be a part of it right now."
Rickea Jackson led State from the opening whistle, with a game-high 26 points in 32 minutes of action. Nineteen of Jackson's 26 points came in the first half as she helped State jump out to a commanding, 53-31 lead heading into the locker room. Jackson added four blocked shots and five rebounds to her stat line. Anastasia Hayes finished second on the team in scoring with 17 points and three assists, while JerKaila Jordan added 15 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
State's floor general, Myah Taylor, had a career night to open her senior campaign. The Olive Branch native posted a career-high 11 assists, seven in the first half, exceeding her previous high of 10 against Ole Miss on March 1, 2020. Freshman Denae Carter posted a game-high 11 rebounds in her debut and was one point shy of a double-double. Taylor also scored eight points on the night.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, Mississippi State grabbed control of the game midway through the second, using a 26-4 run to jump out to a 25-point lead with under two minutes to play in the half. State's defense was a key factor in its impressive second quarter, as the Bulldogs held Alabama State to just eight total points in the frame.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle, with Mississippi State outscoring Alabama State 38-31. The Bulldogs scored 19-points in each of the final two frames. Carter led the way with all nine of her points and six rebounds. Carter also concluded her first collegiate game with three blocked shots.
Mississippi State shot 42 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. State had 18 assists to just six turnovers with nine steals and 11 blocked shots as a team. MSU was outrebounded on the night, 50-48.
"It means a lot because the first-day coach Doug coached us in practice, it felt like he had been here forever," Rickea Jackson said. "It did not feel like "oh, he is new". He came in, and he is vocal. I feel like everybody noticed he had a great basketball mind from day one. It was like, "oh, let's do this". He knew what he was doing from day one, so it just felt like he has been here forever. So, it just means a lot, and we know how hard he works, and we are his first female teams, so I know we are stressing him out. It means a lot definitely to get him this win."
Up Next
Mississippi State will host South Dakota State on Friday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. and 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.
"It felt like every other win I have had in my career, to be honest with you. It is just one game," Doug Novak said. "I felt great about our rhythm at practice yesterday. I felt great about the win in our game-day practice. The Hump is an amazing place to play, and I know it's just getting started. What's been done here is a pretty cool thing. I am very humbled to be a part of it right now."
Rickea Jackson led State from the opening whistle, with a game-high 26 points in 32 minutes of action. Nineteen of Jackson's 26 points came in the first half as she helped State jump out to a commanding, 53-31 lead heading into the locker room. Jackson added four blocked shots and five rebounds to her stat line. Anastasia Hayes finished second on the team in scoring with 17 points and three assists, while JerKaila Jordan added 15 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
State's floor general, Myah Taylor, had a career night to open her senior campaign. The Olive Branch native posted a career-high 11 assists, seven in the first half, exceeding her previous high of 10 against Ole Miss on March 1, 2020. Freshman Denae Carter posted a game-high 11 rebounds in her debut and was one point shy of a double-double. Taylor also scored eight points on the night.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, Mississippi State grabbed control of the game midway through the second, using a 26-4 run to jump out to a 25-point lead with under two minutes to play in the half. State's defense was a key factor in its impressive second quarter, as the Bulldogs held Alabama State to just eight total points in the frame.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle, with Mississippi State outscoring Alabama State 38-31. The Bulldogs scored 19-points in each of the final two frames. Carter led the way with all nine of her points and six rebounds. Carter also concluded her first collegiate game with three blocked shots.
Mississippi State shot 42 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. State had 18 assists to just six turnovers with nine steals and 11 blocked shots as a team. MSU was outrebounded on the night, 50-48.
"It means a lot because the first-day coach Doug coached us in practice, it felt like he had been here forever," Rickea Jackson said. "It did not feel like "oh, he is new". He came in, and he is vocal. I feel like everybody noticed he had a great basketball mind from day one. It was like, "oh, let's do this". He knew what he was doing from day one, so it just felt like he has been here forever. So, it just means a lot, and we know how hard he works, and we are his first female teams, so I know we are stressing him out. It means a lot definitely to get him this win."
Up Next
Mississippi State will host South Dakota State on Friday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. and 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.
– HailState.com –
Team Stats
ALST
MSU
FG%
.324
.421
3FG%
.200
.276
FT%
.706
.613
RB
50
48
TO
19
6
STL
1
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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