Balanced Attack Leads State to 81-68 Win Over Auburn

Tuesday, February 23

Starkville

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

9-7,4-6SEC

Auburn

5-16,0-13SEC

Auburn

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Balanced Attack Leads State to 81-68 Win Over Auburn

February 23, 2021 | Women's Basketball

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By: Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Four Bulldogs finished in double-figure scoring as Mississippi State defeated Auburn, 81-68, on Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

"It feels good; A win always feels good," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "For me, it's about building. What are we getting better at? You just have to continue to build. How you grow is to build on the wins when you are consistently building. It's starts off the floor as much as anything. That stuff carries over on the floor. It felt good. It felt good to go in there. It felt good to see them smile. We just have been slowly but surely putting little pieces together. We haven't put 40 minutes together yet, so hopefully we will do that."

Rickea Jackson posted her third 20-point game of the season on 9-of-16 shooting. The sophomore forward nearly recorded a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds, three assists and one steal. Jessika Carter notched a strong performance behind 17 points, eight boards, three blocks and two assists in just 20 minutes of action.

SEC Sixth Woman of the Year candidate Aliyah Matharu added 15 points off the bench with the help of three 3-pointers. She also matched her season high in rebounds with six and tallied three assists. Myah Taylor had an all-around performance with 12 points, five assists, five boards, three steals and a block.

As a team, the Bulldogs (9-7, 4-6 SEC) found success in the paint on both ends of the floor. State outscored the Tigers 48-34 down low and outrebounded them 46-40. MSU grabbed 15 offensive boards that led to 23 second-chance points. Defensively, Mississippi State tallied nine blocks in game.

Offensively, State assisted on 20 of its 32 baskets, which marked the sixth time this season the Bulldogs recorded 20 or more dimes. MSU added six 3-pointers and got 19 points from its bench in the all-around performance.

Carter dominated the first quarter, posting 10 points, four rebounds and one block to pace the Bulldogs. However, Auburn hit a 3-pointer as time expired to cap a 7-0 run to end the period and take a 18-15 lead.

The Tigers extended their advantage to 42-36 at halftime behind 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe in the second stanza, but the Bulldogs started to get into a groove offensively. State shot 56 percent from the field and knocked down three 3-pointers to erase a double-digit deficit. Jackson scored eight points in the frame, while Matharu converted on back-to-back long balls to record six points.

Mississippi State had the hot hand coming out of intermission, opening the second half on a 14-4 run to pull ahead of the Tigers. The Bulldog defense stepped up big, holding Auburn to 25 percent shooting and forcing five turnovers. For the period, MSU outscored AU 21-8 and entered the final frame with a 57-50 lead.

After Auburn fought back to cut State's lead to three points in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs put the game away with a 14-2 run to top the Tigers. Jackson had five points and five boards in the frame to lead the way. MSU outscored Auburn 45-26 in the second half. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 46 percent from the floor while holding the Tigers to 38 percent.

Up next, Mississippi State will travel to LSU on Thursday for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Tigers and then cap the regular season at home on Sunday against Missouri.

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."