Mississippi State women’s basketball will need to account for MVSU’s Sh’Diamond McKnight
By Ethan Lee
While there aren’t many major contributors for the Mississippi Valley State Devilettes, it’s pretty clear that Sam Purcell’s Mississippi State women’s basketball team will still need to account for an intriguing offensive threat.
Meet Sh’Diamond McKnight, the engine that makes MVSU’s offense go. Despite the fact that the Devilettes have struggled for much of this season, McKnight has had bright moments and has managed to lead the Devilettes in scoring so far this season. Through MVSU’s first 11 games this season, McKnight leads her team with 14.5 points per game.
That’s solid, regardless of how good your team is or who you’re playing for.
Mississippi State women’s basketball should keep an eye on MVSU’s Sh’Diamond McKnight
McKnight, a 5-7 junior guard from Bossier City, Louisiana, is only averaging 26 minutes per game, but she’s started all 11 games that MVSU has played this season.
She shoots a modest 36.4 percent from the field and is hitting on 31.5 percent of her shots from behind the three point line. That’s not the most efficient shooting clip ever, but she’s likely facing a number of tough matchups given that she’s the Devilettes’ best offensive weapon.
McKnight also happens to be MVSU’s leading rebounder with 4.3 total rebounds per game. But, it’s pretty clear that the Mississippi State Bulldogs boast the sort of talent necessary for winning that aspect of this matchup with relative ease. McKnight will have a hard time outrebounding the Bulldogs’ trio of Jessika Carter, Jerkaila Jordan, and Erynn Barnum.
So far this year, McKnight also leads the Devilettes in dishing out assists with 40 up to this point in the season. In addition to that, McKnight has a team-leading 31 steals.
But, on the other side of all of that success, McKnight has 44 turnovers this year (which happens to be more than any of her teammates).
The Bulldogs should be able to contain McKnight and force her into tough situations all evening. Here’s to hoping that that’s the case and she doesn’t create problems for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.