WBK Preview: vs Arkansas

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State women's basketball team will close out the home portion of its regular season on Thursday when the Bulldogs welcome Arkansas to Humphrey Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State (19-8, 8-6 SEC) vs. Arkansas (19-10, 6-8 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 // Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Miss. (Humphrey Coliseum)
Watch: SEC Network (Talent: Tiffany Green & Matthew Mitchell)
Listen: MSU Radio Network (Play-By-Play: Jason Crowder)

Numbers To Know
1 • JerKaila Jordan has been excellent in February. She is the ONLY SEC Player leading her team in 6 major stat categories this month. She leads MSU this month in Scoring (16.6 ppg), Rebounding (7.0), Steals (13), Blocks (7), Field Goal % (55%) & 3-point % (61%)
37 • Mississippi State has recorded at least one blocked shot in 37 straight games. Their last game without a blocked shot was against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2022.
10.3 • Between the end of January and today, the Bulldogs have increased their points per game by 10.3 points. In 9 SEC games in January, MSU averaged just 60.9 ppg. In the five games to date in February, MSU is averaging 71.2. State went 4-5 in Jan. & is 4-1 in Feb.
8 • With Sunday's win over Alabama, head coach Sam Purcell assured that he would become the first coach in MSU program history to have a winning SEC record in their first SEC season leading the team.

Series History
• Mississippi State leads the all-time series, 22-21.
• The Bulldogs 12-6 against the Razorbacks in Starkville.
• Arkansas is on a three-game winning streak in the series, including earning wins in both meetings last season.
• Before Arkansas' three straight wins, Mississippi State had dominated the series, winning 10 games in a row from 2013 to 2020.
• In last season's meeting at home on Feb. 27, Charlotte Kohl recorded her first double-double with 10 points and 18 rebounds, the most rebounds since 2019.

Elite February From Jordan
• So far in February, JerKaila Jordan is the ONLY SEC player to earn at least 10+ steals and 5+ blocked shots. She has 13 steals and seven blocks this month.
• She is also the ONLY SEC player leading her team in 6 major stat categories this month. In February, she leads the team in Scoring (16.6 ppg), Rebounding (7.0), Steals (13), Blocked Shots (7), Field Goal % (55%), and 3-Point FG % (61%)
• Her strong play in February has helped guide MSU to a 4-1 record after going 4-5 in January.
• A big reason for Jordan's staunch improvement has been her nearly doubled FG & 3-point % improvement month over month. After shooting just 33% from the floor and from three in January, Jordan is shooting 51% from the field and 61% from three in February.

Hayes Earns SEC Community Service Team Honors
On Wednesday, Anastasia Hayes was named to the 2023 SEC Community Service Team for all the incredible work she has done and continues to do in the Starkville community this year. To read more about Hayes' honor, click HERE.

MSU Notables
• Debreasha Powe is averaging 8.7 ppg this season, the 4th best average for a freshman in the SEC.
• In MSU's last five games, Ahlana Smith is shooting 86% (6-7) from the free throw line.
• Smith has improved her shooting by 3.0 points per game from January to February. She's averaging 13.0 ppg this month.
• Jordan earned her 400th career rebound in Sunday's win over Alabama.
• Johnson earned her 300th career assist in Sunday's win over Alabama. She has 72 assists this season and is three shy of setting a new career high for a single season.
• Johnson is also tied with Anastasia Hayes for the most assists (16) this month.
• Hayes is ranked second in the SEC in total assists with 116.
• Mississippi State is going for win No. 20 on the year on Thursday. It would be the program's first 20-win season since 2019-20 and its 12th all-time 20-win season.

Get-To-Know Arkansas
• The Razorbacks started the season 13-0 but have since gone 6-11, including 6-8 in SEC play
• The team is 19-10 with the opportunity to earn the program's 22nd 20-win season in program history, third under head coach Mike Neighbors
• Erynn Barnum leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Her .581 field goal percentage leads the SEC
• Samara Spencer is the second-leading scorer with 13.4 points per game and leads the team in assists with 127. Her 4.4 assists per game are the fourth most in the SEC
• Arkansas is sixth in the country in free throw attempts (23.24) and No. 16 in free throw makes per game (15.52). The Razorbacks are No. 2 in attempts and No. 3 in makes in the SEC.
• Arkansas is leading the SEC in 3-point attempts per game (26.5), 12th in the country. The team is also second in the SEC in 3-pointers per game (7.9) and 47th in the NCAA.
• The Razorbacks have launched 10+ 3-pointers in eight games this year, with a season-high 12 against Creighton, Oregon and Florida

Up Next
Mississippi State will close out the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 26, at LSU. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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 –

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Players Mentioned

Anastasia Hayes

Jerkaila Jordan

Charlotte Kohl

Debreasha Powe

Ahlana Smith

Mississippi State University Athletics