Mississippi State women’s basketball looks to stay unbeaten while hosting Lions

Sam Purcell and the Mississippi State women’s basketball team look to get another dominant win as they welcome the Southeastern Louisiana Lions to town.

The first game of the 2023 Mississippi State basketball season went well for Sam Purcell and his Mississippi State Bulldogs. Now, fresh off of a dominant 77-42 win over Alcorn State in their season opener, Purcell and the Mississippi State women’s basketball team look to get a win over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Friday night.

But while the Bulldogs are hoping to get another solid victory to show off to their fans, the Southeastern Louisiana Lions have other plans in mind. SLU is looking to build upon the momentum gained during the program’s strong season last year in which they managed to win 20 games.

And after crushing Millsaps to the tune of 61-30, it should be clear that the Lions can’t just be overlooked right now.

Mississippi State women’s basketball: scouting the Southeastern Louisiana Lions

Now in here seventh season leading the Lions, Ayla Guzzardo seems to have a truly impressive Southland Conference team.

In addition to notching 20 wins last season, the Lions made it to the NCAA Tournament after managing to win both the Southland Conference regular season title and also the Southland Conference tournament title.

That’s a lot of winning in the Southland Conference.

Junior center Cheyanne Daniels led the Lions against Millsaps as she recorded a double-double, putting up 22 points and snagging 10 rebounds to start the season. Hailey Giaratano, who was a Southland Conference All-Conference selection last season, managed to put up 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a couple steals.

Sam Purcell’s Miss. State basketball team dominated to start the season

Mississippi State women’s basketball fans got to sit back and watch Sam Purcell’s Miss. State Bulldogs cruise to an easy, dominant victory over Alcorn State on Monday. The Bulldogs weren’t really challenged (there’s a considerably large talent differential that exists between the two teams) and the Bulldogs won big.

In the 77-42 win over Alcorn State, Mississippi State managed to put a smothering defensive pressure on and forced 17 turnovers. The Bulldogs ended up scoring 21 points off of Alcorn State’s turnovers.

That’s not too shabby.

JerKaila Jordan was dominant for the Bulldogs as she exploded for a double-double, putting up 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for MSU in just 28 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Jessika Carter (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Erynn Barnum (13 points, 11 rebounds) each notched double-doubles as well.

Mississippi State basketball fans can help create a home court advantage

If you couldn’t make it out to Starkville to support Sam Purcell’s Mississippi State basketball team on Monday, you’ve got a great chance to do that right now. The Bulldogs are back in the Humphrey Coliseum on Friday evening. Under Purcell’s leadership, MSU is 15-2 at home.

And while there’s a ton of excitement building around what Chris Jans and his Mississippi State basketball team are building, the MSU women’s basketball program is thriving under a second year head coach as well.

So, if you want to see another win in the Hump, get to Starkville and support this team.

Of course, it’s totally understandable if you can’t make it for one reason or another. The Bulldogs and Lions will tip off at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. And if you can’t stream the game, a live audio broadcast is available online and on the MSU Radio Network.