Mississippi State Faces Auburn In Road Finale

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women's basketball remains on the road to face Auburn inside Neville Arena on Thursday. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State [20-9, 7-7 SEC] at Auburn [17-10, 6-8 SEC]
Date: Thursday, Feb. 29 | Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Auburn, Ala. [Neville Arena]
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: MSU Radio Network - Starkville 96.1

Fans who are not in attendance can follow action on SEC Network+ or through their Mississippi State radio station with Jason Crowder. Live statistics will be available through the link attached above.

Mississippi State trails in the all-time series 35-27 and 20-9 in Auburn. Mississippi State won its lone contest under head coach Sam Purcell and the last 11 in the series overall. The Bulldogs have also won the last five in Neville Arena.

Mississippi State enters Thursday ranked 40th while Auburn is 46th in the latest NET poll. Mississippi State has totaled a 7-4 away record and 10-4 overall mark - 3-0 in neutral-site contests - away from home this season.

Head coach Sam Purcell became the first head coach in school history – men's or women's – to record consecutive 20-plus win seasons to start their tenure this season. He is also one of 11 SEC head coaches all time to notch 20 or more wins in each of their first two seasons and one of five since 2000. Purcell's 42 overall, 16 SEC and two NCAA Tournament victories also lead all head coaches in program history through their first two seasons.

Mississippi State has earned seven weekly conference honors this season with five SEC Player of the Week and two Freshman of the Week accolades. The seven total weekly conference honors have been awarded to six different players. Graduate student center Jessika Carter is one of three players in the SEC to earn multiple Player of the Week honors this season and the seven total honors are the program's most since 2018-19.

Carter is currently posting a double-double average with career-best marks in points, rebounds and minutes. She is averaging 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks on 53.3 percent from the field in 31.9 minutes per contest. She has posted five double-doubles over the last seven contests and 13 double-doubles this season, her best single-season total. She stands as one of six SEC players with 10-plus double-doubles this season, while her career total of 41 ranks second among active conference players and third in program history.

Carter has been on another level as of late with a 17.0 points on 62.3 percent from the field and 13.6 rebounds in 33.8 minutes average over the last five contests.

A team that likes to initiate its offense from inside-out, Mississippi State relies on the three-point shooting of sophomore guard Debreasha Powe. Powe is connecting on a career-best 41.5 percent on 61-147 from three this season - an +11.3 percent increase from her freshman year. Her 61 three pointers and 41.5 percent rank third in the SEC. Powe went 5-10 from three last time out at Alabama on Feb. 25 for her fifth-career game with five-plus threes made.

Graduate student guard Lauren Park leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally with 180 assists this season. She is one of just three players in the country to rank inside the top eight for total assists each of the last two seasons. Park-Lane has led the team in assists in 12 of 14 SEC contests and in 25 of 29 overall.

Park-Lane's 180 assists this season is already the third-best single-season mark in program history. She has dished out 39 assists over the last five games and is currently averaging 6.2 assists per contest, which is ninth nationally and the second-best single-season average in the program record books.

First to the substitution table for Mississippi State is often senior guard Darrione Rogers, who leads all Bulldog reserves in points, rebounds, assists and minutes. She is averaging 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 22.3 minutes per game and has scored 10-plus points in six of the last nine contests.

Senior guard Jerkaila Jordan is also posting one of the best seasons of her career with a team-high 16.1 points and 2.2 steals, in addition to career-high marks in rebounds, assists and minutes with 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 31.8 minutes per game. Jordan has led the team in points in 14 games and has scored 10-plus points in 23 of 29 contests this season.

It all starts inside the paint for Mississippi State behind its reigning All-SEC posts in Carter and graduate student forward Erynn Barnum, who rank second and third on the team in scoring, respectively. Mississippi State is averaging 37.2 points in the paint per game and have tied or outscored nine of its 14 SEC opponents in the category.

Mississippi State will close out its regular season with Senior Day against Missouri inside Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Mississippi State Faces Auburn In Road Finale

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Players Mentioned

Erynn Barnum

Jessika Carter

Jerkaila Jordan

Debreasha Powe

Darrione Rogers

Mississippi State University Athletics