Mississippi State Hosts TCU For WBIT Second Round Matchup

Sunday, March 24

Starkville, Miss.

2 P.M.

Mississippi State

No. 3 Seed TCU

Tickets

Mississippi State Hosts TCU For WBIT Second Round Matchup

March 23, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Mississippi State Game Notes TCU Game Notes Live Statistics Watch: Mississippi State vs. TCU [ESPN+]Tickets

STARKVILLE – No. 2 seed Mississippi State women's basketball continues its postseason run when it hosts No. 3 seed TCU for the Second Round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament inside Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

The WBIT was established prior to this season with the initial three rounds held at the highest-seeded team site. All contests are aired on ESPN networks with the Semifinals and Championship held at Butler's historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

Mississippi State was one of three SEC teams - Florida and Arkansas - selected to the field and is now the only conference that remains after the first round.

GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State [22-11, 8-8 SEC] vs. TCU [21-11, 6-12 Big 12]
Date: Sunday, March 24 | Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Location: Starkville, Miss. [Humphrey Coliseum]
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: MSU Radio Network - Starkville 96.1

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 third contest all-time between Mississippi State and TCU with the series tied at one. Sunday will also be the first contest since Nov. 25, 2005 and the first time that Mississippi State has faced TCU at home.

The WBIT is the 20th overall postseason tournament appearance - 12 NCAA and 8 WBIT/WNIT/NWIT – for Mississippi State and the second consecutive 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 22-11 record, Purcell is the lone head coach in program history to record consecutive 20-plus win seasons to start their tenure. He is one of 11 SEC head coaches all-time to notch 20-plus wins in each of their first two seasons and one of five since 2000. Purcell's 44 overall and 17 SEC victories lead all head coaches in program history through their first two seasons.

Sunday will be a top-50 NET matchup with TCU ranked 46th and Mississippi State following at 47th in the final rankings.

TCU enters the contest 21-11 overall and 6-12 in the BIG 12 in its first season under head coach Mark Campbell. The Horned Frogs are led by graduate student center Sedona Prince, who is averaging 20.0 points and 9.7 rebounds in 33.0 minutes, and junior guard Madison Conner, who adds 19.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 35.1 minutes per contest. TCU has had a limited rotation due to injuries all season, but are 18-3 when the pair of Prince and Conner are on the court at the same time.

Jordan announced that she is returning to Mississippi State for her fifth year on Tuesday and is having one of the best seasons of her career. She is averaging a team-high 15.7 points and 2.1 steals, in addition to career-high marks in rebounds, assists and minutes with 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.6 minutes per game. Jordan has led the team in points in 15 contests and has scored 10-plus points in 25 this season.

Mississippi State advanced to the Second Round after it dominated No. 7 seed Georgia Tech in a wire-to-wire 84-47 win on Thursday. All nine players scored and Mississippi State outscored Georgia Tech 41-6 off the bench in the contest. Freshman guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger finished with a career-high 17 points on 7-10 from the field and 3-4 from three, in addition to five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 24 minutes.

Mississippi State is led by Second Team All-SEC selections in senior guard Jerkaila Jordan and graduate student center Jessika Carter. Mississippi State is one of five schools with multiple First or Second Team selections – Alabama, South Carolina, LSU and Ole Miss were the others.

Graduate student guard Lauren Park-Lane leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with 203 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 29 contests overall.

Park-Lane is currently averaging 6.2 assists per contest, which is also 10th nationally and stands as the second-best single-season assist average in program history. She broke the program single-season assist record of 202 set by Jazzmun Holmes in 2018-19 with her sixth assist against Georgia Tech on Thursday.

Carter is currently averaging a double-double with 14.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 31.6 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.

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 60-or-more made threes this season.

The winner of Sunday's contest will take on either No. 1 seed Penn State or No. 5 Belmont in the Quarterfinal round. Tip-off time, date and location are still to be determined.