Mississippi State women's basketball: Sam Purcell's Bulldogs open SEC play vs. strong Vanderbilt Commodores
By Ethan Lee
Right in the midst of a five-game winning streak, the Mississippi State women's basketball team will host the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thursday, January 4 to get the start of Southeastern Conference competition underway.
The Bulldogs head into this game with an impressive 13-2 records and the No. 32 ranking in the most recent NET rankings. But the Bulldogs aren't the only solid SEC team involved in this contest. The Vanderbilt Commodores are coming to Starkville while boasting a 13-1 record.
This is sure to be an intriguing test for Sam Purcell and his Mississippi State basketball team.
Mississippi State basketball: MSU women's basketball team to open SEC play by hosting Vanderbilt Commodores
As evidenced by their combined 26 wins so far this season, it's safe to say that both of these teams have found plenty of success in the non-conference portion of the women's college basketball season.
Thankfully, a confident Mississippi State women's basketball team will get to start SEC play in Starkville as this matchup with the Commodores is going to be a great examination of just how good the Bulldogs can be.
Mississippi State will be led by the likes of Jerkaila Jordan (who is averaging 17.2 points per game), Lauren Park-Lane (10.4 points per game), and Jessika Carter (15.1 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game).
Really, the entire starting five for the Bulldogs is solid. MSU has a ton of talent on this roster.
And as a team, Mississippi State is averaging nearly 80 points per game all while shooting 46 percent from the field. MSU is outrebounding opponents by 13 rebounds per game all while holding foes to fewer than 57 points per game. It definitely helps that MSU's foes are shooting just 36 percent from the field.
Vandy has a pretty stout defense of its own as the Commodores are led by the incredibly versatile Jordyn Cambridge (who is, at the moment, leading the SEC with 4.6 steals per game). Oh, and to go right along with all those steals are 14.8 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game.
The Bulldogs have won the last nine matchups with Vanderbilt, but it certainly seems plausible that the Commodores could prove to be a problem for the Mississippi State women's basketball team this season.
Hopefully the mix of momentum and home court advantage can propel Purcell's Bulldogs to victory Thursday evening.