Mississippi State Hosts Georgia Tech In WBIT First Round On Thursday
March 20, 2024 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – No. 2 seed Mississippi State women's basketball starts its postseason run when it hosts No. 7 seed Georgia Tech for the First Round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament inside Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday, aired on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. CT.Â
Established in 2024, the WBIT features a 32-team field with the initial three rounds played at the highest-seeded site. Mississippi State is one of three SEC programs in the tournament and is joined by Florida and Arkansas. All WBIT contests are aired on ESPN networks with the Semifinals and Championship game held at Butler's historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.Â
GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State [21-11, 8-8 SEC] vs. Georgia Tech [17-15, 7-11 ACC]
Date:Â Thursday, March 21 |Â Time:Â 6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Miss. [Humphrey Coliseum}
Watch: ESPN+
Listen:Â MSU Radio Network - Starkville 96.1Â
Fans who are not in attendance can follow action on ESPN+ or through their Mississippi State radio station with Jason Crowder. Live statistics will be available through the statbroadcast link attached above.
It will be the first contest between Mississippi State and Georgia Tech since Dec. 16, 2007. Mississippi State leads the all-time series 4-1 and 2-1 in Humphrey Coliseum.Â
Thursday will be the 20th overall postseason tournament appearance - 12 NCAA, 8 WBIT/WNIT/NWIT – for Mississippi State and the second under head coach Sam Purcell. Purcell is the only coach in program history to lead their team to a postseason tournament in each of their first two seasons.
With a current 21-11 record, Purcell is also the lone head coach in program history to record consecutive 20-plus win seasons to start their tenure. 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 43 overall and 17 SEC victories lead all head coaches in program history through their first two seasons.Â
Georgia Tech enters Thursday 17-15 overall and 7-11 in the ACC in its fifth season under head coach Nell Fortner. The Yellow Jackets are led by Second Team All-ACC sophomore guard Tonie Morgan who leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals with 15.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.Â
Mississippi State is led by Second Team All-SEC selections in senior guard Jerkaila Jordan and graduate student center Jessika Carter. Mississippi State was one of five schools with multiple First or Second Team selections – Alabama, South Carolina, LSU and Ole Miss were the others.Â
Jordan announced that she is returning for her fifth year of eligibility on Tuesday after having one of the best seasons of her career this season. She is averaging a team-high 16.0 points and 2.2 steals, in addition to career-high marks in rebounds, assists and minutes with 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 30.9 minutes per game. Jordan has led the team in points in 15 games and has scored 10-plus points in 25 contests this season.Â
Graduate student guard Lauren Park-Lane leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with 197 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 28 of 32 contests overall.
Park-Lane is currently averaging 6.2 assists per contest, which is also ninth nationally and stands as the second-best single-season assist average in program history. She is on pace to break the program single-season assist record of 202 set by Jazzmun Holmes in 2018-19 with six more assists.Â
Carter is currently averaging a double-double with 14.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 32.0 minutes per contest. She has recorded 13 double-doubles this season- her best single-season total - and 41 for her career. She is one of six SEC players with 10-plus double-doubles this season and her career total ranks second among active SEC players and third in program history.Â
Sophomore guard Debreasha Powe and senior guard Darrione Rogers are two of the best from behind the arc and are each connecting on 40.0 percent or better with 50-or-more made threes this season. Powe is converting on a career-best 41.0 percent - an +10.8 percent increase from her freshman year and the third-best mark in the conference.
The winner of Thursday's contest will face either No. 3 TCU/No. 6 North Texas in the Second Round on Sunday. Tip-off time and location is still to be determined.Â
