Why Not Us?
March 14, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs have ridden their motto all the way to the big dance.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Belief is a funny thing. Maybe the best thing about it is that, when you believe, it really doesn't matter if anyone else does.
External opinions are of no concern. If you have belief, outside noise is nothing but a possible distraction.
From day one of the 2022-23 hoops season, Mississippi State women's basketball believed. As a result, the Bulldogs are set to battle Illinois in a First Four NCAA Tournament game on Wednesday night.
The Dawgs are dancing, and as they get ready to bust a move on the court, they can give a lot of the credit for their success to the belief fostered by first-year head coach Sam Purcell and his three-word motto he brought to Starkville: Why not us?
"When [the Mississippi State job] came up, I said, 'Oh…This is the one,'" Purcell noted on Tuesday. "A reason it was is because women's basketball matters in Starkville. There've been some great coaches before me that have put this program on the map.
"So, when given the opportunities, I knew if we put a product together really quick to restore the roster and get the right transfers, then why not us? Why not get back [to the NCAA Tournament] in year one and get this where we're talking on a national stage and making national news?"
The answer to, 'Why not us' is clear at this point. There is NO reason it can't be Mississippi State doing magical things.
Why can't MSU hang with some of the best teams in the country? The Bulldogs absolutely can and they have.
State beat Tennessee and Alabama – both now NCAA Tournament teams. They came close to defeating No. 1 South Carolina, a team that earned the top national seed in March Madness.
The Bulldogs ultimately etched their names in stone as the team that got the Dawgs back in the dance for the first time in four years, and this State bunch has solidified that the belief Purcell instilled in them has been infectious and impactful.
"I just think Coach Sam is a really passionate person, and you can tell that he cares about each and every one of us," Jerkaila Jordan said. "So just seeing all the passion he has while we practice or while we play just makes you want to run through a wall for him. Just give it all you've got because you know he's going to do the same in return."
Purcell's passion is indicative of his expectations. He's long known the potential inside of his team and he's made sure every Bulldog knows it, too.
He made sure they knew it and continued to believe after suffering a pair of close nonconference setbacks to tough teams back in November. He made sure they knew it and continued to believe after dropping back-to-back road games at Ole Miss and Georgia when it looked as though postseason goals might be slipping away.
"I love that [another] one of our mottos all year has been bend but don't break," Purcell said. "We've got the bruises and bumps, but you saw a team in February that knew how each game was important and that we had to come out and do what we needed to do, and they did that.
"I couldn't be more proud of the group of young women that I have who are fighters, and they've been an absolute joy to coach in my first year."
So here State is now, driven by belief in itself, trying to fight its way as deep into March as possible. Few prognosticators are likely to predict a long tournament run by the Bulldogs, but don't expect them to care.
"At the end of the day, like why not us?" Anastasia Hayes said, once again bringing up the three magic words that have lifted this group. "That's been our thing all year. We've just got to come in and prove everyone wrong, play our game and play how we play.
"Being the underdog, that doesn't matter at this point because we know who we are, and we know what we can do."
Count out this group at your own risk. Somebody's got to win games this month. Why not us, right?
"We're through the door," Ahlana Smith said. "We're here. Now it's about what we're going to do while we're here."
