Mississippi State basketball's Jerkaila Jordan, Mjracle Sheppard earn SEC honors after huge win vs. LSU
By Ethan Lee
In what was the biggest win of his young career as head coach of the Mississippi State women's basketball team, Sam Purcell and the Mississippi State Bulldogs knocked down the No. 9 ranked and defending national champion LSU Tigers. And that win likely doesn't happen without the tremendous performances put on by Jerkaila Jordan and Mjracle Sheppard.
Monday evening's monumental major upset of the Tigers in the Hump was fueled by the stellar showings from Jordan and Sheppard, who each earned SEC honors for their hard work. Jordan grabbed recognition as Co-SEC player of the week while Sheppard was named co-SEC freshman of the week.
How did they get that sort of recognition and respect?
Mississippi State women's basketball propelled to victory over No. 9 LSU by Jerkaila Jordan, Mjracle Sheppard
Well, Jordan thrived against the LSU Tigers, scoring an impressive (and game-leading) 24 points (on 9-of-17 shooting) against the defending national champs. But that wasn't all she accomplished. Jordan also managed to snag five steals, grab four rebounds, and dish out two assists in the win over the Tigers.
That's a great stat line and definitely worthy of being named co-SEC player of the week (which is the first time Jordan has earned the honor and the fifth time a Mississippi State women's basketball player has earned the recognition this season).
As for Sheppard? She added a dozen points of her own and she scored those 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Sheppard also had her own six steals, five assists, and four rebounds. That sort of showing from a freshman in a game that big is just flat out impressive.
And as such, she definitely earned that spot as co-SEC freshman of the week, her first time being recognized as such.
The strong showing from Sheppard and Jordan helped propel the Bulldogs and Purcell to the statement win (the first top-10 victory in Purcell's career as head coach) and it all happened in front of over 9,000 Mississippi State basketball fans.
With the Bulldogs at 17-5 on the season and proving that they're capable of wins like this, it's starting to feel like Mississippi State women's basketball is back. MSU is still inconsistent and the Bulldogs likely don't have the same amount of depth that Vic Schaefer's best teams did, but still, this is huge. And it's a lot of fun to watch.
Let's see if the Bulldogs can keep the momentum rolling as the Mississippi State women's basketball team faces the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday, Feb. 1 in Lexington, Kentucky.