Thursday, January 19
Starkville
7:00 PM
Mississippi State
14-5,3-3SEC
72
vs
58
Auburn
10-8,0-6SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Auburn
5
13
29
11
58
Mississippi St.
18
8
21
25
72
Dominant Fourth Quarter Pushes Bulldogs Past Tigers
January 19, 2023 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE - Mississippi State took down the Auburn Tigers with a 72-58 win Thursday night inside Humphrey Coliseum. The victory is MSU's second-straight SEC win and first SEC win at home this season. The Bulldogs are now 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the SEC.
State had all the control in the first quarter, holding Auburn to just five points, the second time since Nov. 29, 2015, vs. Savannah State. This was the 16th straight game with 10 plus assists tying the 2009-10 season.
The Bulldogs had all the momentum heading into halftime, ending the second quarter on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a buzzer-beating layup by Ahlana Smith, who finished the game with 12 points. The Tigers came out in the third quarter scoring 29 points; the most Mississippi State had allowed in a quarter this season before State came back in the fourth scoring 25 points, the most the Bulldogs have scored in the fourth quarter this season.
JerKaila Jordan took charge for the Bulldogs, scoring 14 points and adding 12 rebounds, her first double-double of the season and fourth of her career. Jordan's 12 rebounds were a career-high. Jordan earned four steals on the night and now has an SEC-leading 45 steals. This was Jordan's seventh game with at least four steals.
Jessika Carter again had a major night, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Carter recorded her eighth double-double of the season and 26th of her career. She has now scored in double-figures in 17 games this season. She added two blocked shots to her stat line, giving her an even 50 on the year. Carter leads the SEC in blocked shots and ranks fourth nationally.
Asianae Johnson made her first career start as a Bulldog and 108th of her career. Johnson had a dominant night, scoring 13 points and recording seven season-high rebounds. Johnson added five assists. Debreasha Powe hit her 30th three-pointer, scoring nine points and adding seven rebounds.
Game Notes
• State scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. It's the most this season
• Jessika Carter recorded her fourth 20-point game of the season and 12th of her career
• Johnson's 13 points are the second-most she's scored this season. She scored 16 against Old Dominion
• This is the fourth time that Johnson has had 5+ assists this season.
• Mississippi State was 12-for-14 (86%) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Johnson was 4-for-6 from the line in the fourth, and Carter was 4-for-4
• State outrebounded Auburn 44-28
• All 72 Bulldog points came from their starters
Quoting Coach Sam Purcell
Opening Statement
"Wow, it feels good to be back home. To have an unbelievable crowd that was huge, especially when we needed a lift. So proud of so many people, but I'm going to keep saying it; this feels so good because I have a team. I've talked to them about it; it could be a different person, night in and night out, and Jessika Carter, hello okay, 24-11, and then JerKaila Jordan. I've been on her; I don't know what she's saying in the press conference, but, me and her have a lot of moments where I'm like, "Jerk, I need you to rebound; you've got more talent; she does things like I keep saying that I've never seen." Some female players do, she reminds me of Dee Wade, and I tell her "you've got more on the tank," and boy was she huge tonight. Also proud of some other unsung heroes I talked about before the game. Mia Moore, even though it was one minute and thirty-one seconds her minutes were huge. Charlie, that play at the end of the second quarter where she just flat out got after it defensively. Kourtney Weber big time, and so when you have so many people who can step up not in and not out and most importantly play together boy it's fun to coach and tonight was one of those nights."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will host Kentucky on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 12 p.m. in their annual "We Back Pat" game.
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.
State had all the control in the first quarter, holding Auburn to just five points, the second time since Nov. 29, 2015, vs. Savannah State. This was the 16th straight game with 10 plus assists tying the 2009-10 season.
The Bulldogs had all the momentum heading into halftime, ending the second quarter on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a buzzer-beating layup by Ahlana Smith, who finished the game with 12 points. The Tigers came out in the third quarter scoring 29 points; the most Mississippi State had allowed in a quarter this season before State came back in the fourth scoring 25 points, the most the Bulldogs have scored in the fourth quarter this season.
JerKaila Jordan took charge for the Bulldogs, scoring 14 points and adding 12 rebounds, her first double-double of the season and fourth of her career. Jordan's 12 rebounds were a career-high. Jordan earned four steals on the night and now has an SEC-leading 45 steals. This was Jordan's seventh game with at least four steals.
Jessika Carter again had a major night, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Carter recorded her eighth double-double of the season and 26th of her career. She has now scored in double-figures in 17 games this season. She added two blocked shots to her stat line, giving her an even 50 on the year. Carter leads the SEC in blocked shots and ranks fourth nationally.
Asianae Johnson made her first career start as a Bulldog and 108th of her career. Johnson had a dominant night, scoring 13 points and recording seven season-high rebounds. Johnson added five assists. Debreasha Powe hit her 30th three-pointer, scoring nine points and adding seven rebounds.
Game Notes
• State scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. It's the most this season
• Jessika Carter recorded her fourth 20-point game of the season and 12th of her career
• Johnson's 13 points are the second-most she's scored this season. She scored 16 against Old Dominion
• This is the fourth time that Johnson has had 5+ assists this season.
• Mississippi State was 12-for-14 (86%) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Johnson was 4-for-6 from the line in the fourth, and Carter was 4-for-4
• State outrebounded Auburn 44-28
• All 72 Bulldog points came from their starters
Quoting Coach Sam Purcell
Opening Statement
"Wow, it feels good to be back home. To have an unbelievable crowd that was huge, especially when we needed a lift. So proud of so many people, but I'm going to keep saying it; this feels so good because I have a team. I've talked to them about it; it could be a different person, night in and night out, and Jessika Carter, hello okay, 24-11, and then JerKaila Jordan. I've been on her; I don't know what she's saying in the press conference, but, me and her have a lot of moments where I'm like, "Jerk, I need you to rebound; you've got more talent; she does things like I keep saying that I've never seen." Some female players do, she reminds me of Dee Wade, and I tell her "you've got more on the tank," and boy was she huge tonight. Also proud of some other unsung heroes I talked about before the game. Mia Moore, even though it was one minute and thirty-one seconds her minutes were huge. Charlie, that play at the end of the second quarter where she just flat out got after it defensively. Kourtney Weber big time, and so when you have so many people who can step up not in and not out and most importantly play together boy it's fun to coach and tonight was one of those nights."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will host Kentucky on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 12 p.m. in their annual "We Back Pat" game.
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
AUB
MSU
FG%
.387
.462
3FG%
.278
.300
FT%
.455
.656
RB
28
44
TO
12
15
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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