At Home On The Road
February 16, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Bulldogs’ success has come, in part, from handling business when away from Humphrey Coliseum.
STARKVILLE – It's been an incredibly successful season for the Mississippi State women's basketball team so far.
The Bulldogs are 20-6 for the season with a 7-4 record in Southeastern Conference play. The team currently ranks alongside the top squads in the conference and is aiming to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second time in head coach Sam Purcell's first two seasons.
Of course, there is always more work to be done.
"We've got to find ways to steal one on the road and then protect home," Purcell said.
Stealing one on the road has happened quite often for MSU this year. It's happened seven times, in fact. Going 7-2 through nine true road games is no easy feat, but the squad has worked hard to get it done.
Freshman Mjracle Sheppard, who is quickly making a name for herself in the league, explained some of the steps that she and her teammates take to make sure that they remain successful away from Humphrey Coliseum.
"The preparation we put in, I feel like we sit down, watch film, we study it and I feel like we [are] really just locked in," Sheppard said.
Purcell quickly jumped in to provide a laugh.
"Maybe we need to go on the road at home games too," Purcell joked.
That's not to say that the home games haven't gone well. State has posted a 10-4 record in The Hump, with one of those victories coming over defending national champion LSU. Still, there's just something special about being able to find success in tough opposing environments.
The farthest journeys — College Station and Lexington, to name a few — are out of the way. As Purcell said, a fanbase that travels well has a few more opportunities to support their Bulldogs by painting each road coliseum in the Maroon and White.
"When you look at our last five games, two of them are at home," Purcell said. "The other three are driving distance: Auburn, Tuscaloosa and Ole Miss. We've got a chance for our special fanbase to hit the road and show why, again, we're one of the best fanbases in the country."
Next up comes a rivalry that is familiar to all Mississippi State faithful: Ole Miss. The Bulldogs took down the Rebels by a score of 69-57 at Humphrey Coliseum in mid-January and are preparing for a tough battle in Oxford.
"We're going to go in there with a game plan and give our best shot because they're really good," Purcell said.
The head coach continued, emphasizing that each remaining game is just as significant to the team as the Magnolia State battle.
"Most importantly, we've got to finish these last five games out and give our best punch," Purcell said.
No matter what challenges State faces over the last stretch of the regular season, the objective remains the same and that is to go dancing again. The sky is the limit for the Dawgs, and they know it.
"We've got big goals, and they're still in front of us," Purcell said. "Within those big goals you've got opportunities, and that's how life works. You've got to seize it."
