Bulldogs Back In Win Column with Victory over Alabama State

Friday, November 18

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

3-1,0-0SEC

Alabama State

0-3,0-0SWAC

Alabama St.

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs Back In Win Column with Victory over Alabama State

November 18, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Kelly Shipp, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State women's basketball squad walked away with their third victory of the season with its 81-46 victory over Alabama State. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 3-1 on the young season.

Mississippi State's defense was on point tonight with 10 blocks, 49 rebounds, and 14 steals. The Bulldogs started slow, letting Alabama State score the first five points of the contest. MSU quickly rallied to go on a 19-3 run of their own to begin to put the game away. In the first half, State scored 20 points in the paint, with 12 of those points coming off the bench; they ended with 44 paint points and 31 bench points. The Bulldogs' 10 blocks and 49 rebounds were a season-high for the squad.

Denae Carter is officially back as she recorded her first double-double of the season (13-points, 12-rebounds), the fifth double-double of her career. Carter added two steals, an assist and a block to her totals. Jessika Carter also earned a double-double in the game, the third of the season and 22nd of her career) behind a team-high 15-points and 10 boards.

Asianae Johnson was once again a spark off the bench for State. The graduate student from Brooklyn filled the stat sheet with seven points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Anastasia Hayes is finding her offensive groove once again as she scored 11-points, her second-straight game in double figures. Hayes also had three assists and two turnovers.

Game Notes:
• State went on a 19-3 run after trailing 5-0 to start the game
• JerKaila Jordan was 3-for-4 from three in the first quarter
• Ramani Parker earned all five of her rebounds in the second quarter
• This was the second game this season that Jessika Carter has had at least six blocked shots.
• Denae Carter went 5-5 from the field in the second half.
• Debreasha Powe added 12-points to the box score. She has scored in double-digits in all four career games.
• MSU's 19 assists are tied for the third-most this season.

Quoting Coach Purcell
Opening Statement
"I'm a much smarter coach when I play Denae Carter. I told my team after that South Dakota State lost, I think I shared this before this game. I brought her to the back of the bus and told her that I apologize. I told her I know how tough you are. There were parts of me that were hesitant because of the recovery that we're all aware of. But also, her trying to get a flow. She's coming back at that weird time that she didn't get the reps she wanted earlier. Tonight, she showed what she can do. Those twelve rebounds that she had, for who watched the team last year you are used to that. I would love to keep getting used to that myself that now I'm coaching the team. But that first quarter, I was so excited. I know that shots didn't fall at a high rate. But how we played basketball, we shared it and we plus-one it. They doubled it in the post and we're going to see a lot of it Sunday. Jessica Carter was making the right pass. We played eleven people tonight. I got great balanced minutes. Because again I need a great Bulldog fanbase here Sunday. Colorado State is legit. They have great speed and play a very unique offense like we played at South Dakota State. This the dribble drive that puts a lot of pressure on you and they attack you downhill. For me to have balanced minutes, where nobody got too much. That way I can get a good practice tomorrow. That's the beauty of playing at home, trying to get that home-court advantage. To help us get a good victory here at home."

On Asianae and Denae coming off the bench
"It's everything. I call them both my sixth man of the year. First of all, let's just talk about Asianae and the joy that she brings to the game. If you're a fan that just sits in the stands, you can't help but get out of your seat because she's smiling, she's jumping, she brings such a great spirit about her. I said this at the beginning of the year–she's good enough to start, but that's who she is. That she's willing to be about the team, and knows that when she comes in the game she can uplift us, [it] makes us better. Obviously, with Denae, she watches the game and then here she comes rebounding like a machine and a bulldozer on the glass. But most importantly, she had some great cuts. She was, what, six-for-seven? Come on now, this was a kid who never shot a shot outside the paint last year. And now, all of a sudden–I joked with her last week–she's pulling a transition with 24 seconds on the shot clock. So, I couldn't be more happy as a coach getting that kind of production off the bench."

Up Next
The Bulldogs will be back home on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m. when they host Colorado State (3-0). This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Rams.

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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