Mississippi State's Women's Basketball Dominates In Coach's Debut
Mississippi State women's basketball opened the 2022-23 season in dominant fashion with a 104-47 blowout victory over Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday night.
The victory marked the beginning of the Sam Purcell era in a way that could hardly have been more positive. Purcell previously served as the associate head coach for Louisville before accepting the head coaching job at Mississippi State earlier this year.
After many struggles and a disappointing end to last season, the Bulldogs came out in force in the weeknight matchup with something to prove, and for the first time in what feels like a very long time, the Bulldogs looked like a very complete team on the court.
The Bulldogs held the momentum from start to finish, shooting 43.5% from the three and leading as much as 55-18 at halftime. Valley State couldn't even make a three until the fourth quarter during garbage time.
While several players shone, the biggest standout was forward Jessika Carter, who recorded a double-double to kick off the new season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Carter also shot 6-8 from the field.
Freshman guard Debreasha Power also made her presence felt, looking solid in the paint and recording 10 points and four rebounds in her college debut.
Preseason First Team All-SEC guard Anastasia Hayes didn't pop on the stat sheet in the season opener, recording just three points and went 1-4 from the field, but still managed achieve eight assists in 20 minutes on the court.
In the team's first game, the intensity shown on the court Wednesday night has shown their new leadership making strides and a lot more is to come in the near future.
“Dream come true,” Purcell said after the game.
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank everybody. To think that everything that we’ve overcome from the storyline to the narrative, I couldn’t be more excited about where we’re at.”
The Bulldogs return to Humphrey Coliseum Friday to host North Alabama in Starkville at 5:30 p.m. CT.
