Mississippi State's size helps Bulldogs roll to dominant win over New Orleans
STARKVILLE, Miss. – In sports, it almost always pays to be bigger, faster and stronger. On Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum, No. 6 Mississippi State was bigger than New Orleans. The Bulldogs were perhaps faster and stronger too, but being bigger proved to be about all that mattered.
MSU rolled to a 106-51 win over the Privateers. State simply overmatched New Orleans inside, as the Bulldogs outscored the Privateers a whopping 72-12 in the paint.
"If you're bigger than everybody, I feel like you should produce in the paint," MSU forward Jessika Carter said. "When we saw that, we were like, 'OK, we're getting the ball inside. Y'all have to keep it up and y'all have to score.' That's what we did."
The size advantage paid off on the glass too. While MSU's smaller, quicker guards chipped in on the boards as well, State out-rebounded New Orleans 51-16.
"We want our kids to beat people to balls," Mississippi State head coach Nikki McCray-Penson said. "When you have speed and quickness, that's your advantage. Go get the rebound. You may not always block out, but you do have the ability to pursue the basketball. Pursuing the ball is really big for us."
No one scored and rebounded like Carter. She delivered a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The 23 points were just two under her single-game career high. Meanwhile guard JaMya Mingo-Young did set a single-game career best with 18 points. She contributed eight rebounds as well.
In all, four Bulldogs scored in double figures. Rickea Jackson added 16 points while Yemiyah Morris totaled 14. Nine MSU players scored five points or more. And the primary source of all that scoring occurred with shots taken near the basket.
All this came only three days after Mississippi State won its season-opening game over Jackson State in large part by sinking 12 out of 29 3-point tries. The Bulldogs were just 5-of-15 from long range on Wednesday, but with the showing on the inside, proved they are capable of striking down opponents in multiple ways.
"We shot 62 percent (overall) and...we really scored a lot in the paint, which was a big emphasis for us," McCray-Penson said. "I thought we really dominated the paint, which we needed to. Hopefully it gave (Jessika Carter and Yemiyah Morris) some confidence, especially as we continue to play games. We want to establish ourselves inside."
The Bulldogs now stand at 2-0 overall this season with one win fueled by outside shooting and another powered from the paint. It remains to be seen how they'll attack things next, but it'll go down in a 6 p.m. central game at South Florida on Saturday.
Mississippi State forward Jessika Carter (4) notched a double-double on Wednesday with 23 points and 10 rebounds agasint New Orleans. (File photo courtesy of Mississippi State athletics)
To follow along on Cowbell Corner and comment on articles and participate in the community, simply sign up, get a username and chime in with your thoughts and questions. Also, be sure to follow Cowbell Corner on Twitter (@SIBulldogs) by clicking here, and like it on Facebook by clicking here. Thank you for coming to Cowbell Corner for coverage of Mississippi State sports.
