Two Bulldogs Earn SEC Women's Basketball Weekly Honors
The Mississippi State women's basketball team upset No. 9 LSU 77-73 on Monday night. This victory marks the Bulldogs' first over an AP Top 10 opponent since 2018 (lost the previous 12 matchups) and second-year head coach Sam Purcell's first against an AP Top 25 team.
This was truly an all-around effort, but the SEC recognized two Bulldogs who dominated and named them recipients of two of the weekly conference awards. Guard Jerkaila Jordan was named the Co-Player of the Week with South Carolina's Kamilla Cardoso and fellow guard Mjracle Sheppard received the Co-Freshman of the Week with Alabama's Essence Cody.
Jordan finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-17 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc.
In addition to her ninth 20-plus point contest and her fourth in SEC action this season, Jordan added five steals, four rebounds and two assists. She has now led the team in scoring in 12 games this season.
Mjracle Sheppard recorded 12 points on 6-9 from the field, and tallied team-highs in steals (6) and assists (5). This was Sheppard's fourth game with at least five steals.
She has now led the team in steals in six games and assists in four. Sheppard joined UConn's Paige Bueckers as the only freshman since 2009-10 to have 12-plus points, five-plus assists and six-plus steals against an SEC opponent.
Mississippi State found itself trailing at halftime. Jordan led the team with nine points at the break, but erupted for 12 in the third quarter alone. Sheppard also made a lot of noise in the game's turning point which was the third quarter, as her efforts on the perimeter helped hold LSU to just 17 points compared to Mississippi State's 28.
