Sam Purcell, Mississippi State women's basketball bounce back with road win vs. Florida Gators
The Bulldogs managed to get a solid road win over the Florida Gators on Monday. Can that sort of success be sustained in bigger games?
By Ethan Lee
Sam Purcell and his Mississippi State women's basketball team found a way to bounce back following a disappointing home loss to the Tennessee Lady Vols. On the road in Gainesville, the Mississippi State Bulldogs took down the Florida Gators with a solid double digit victory.
When the Mississippi State women's basketball team hit the road to face the Florida Gators, the MSU Bulldogs managed to pick up an 89-77 win in Gainesville. Purcell's Mississippi State basketball team managed to get dominant double-double performances from Jerkaila Jordan and Jessika Carter, which helped propel the Bulldogs to victory.
Jordan managed to put up 21 points and grab 12 rebounds in Gainesville, proving to be a terrifying threat for MSU on Monday. Meanwhile, Jessika Carter was equally dominant, pouring in 20 points on an incredbily efficient 10 of 15 shooting.
Oh, and Carter grabbed 15 rebounds of her own.
It's pretty safe to say that the MSU women's basketball team is going to be nearly impossible to beat on nights that Carter and Jordan combine for 41 points and 27 rebounds.
Jerkaila Jordan, Jessika Carter record double-doubles to lead MSU to road win at Florida
The Bulldogs managed to control this game pretty much from start to finish. There wasn't a single second that Florida held a lead in this contest. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs led for an astonishing 37:43.
The Gators did manage to tie the Bulldogs on a few different occasions and that includes how Florida tied things up at 19-19 at the end of the first quarter. But, in impressive fashion, the MSU Bulldogs locked in and outscored the Gators 25-21 in the second quarter to take a 44-40 lead into halftime.
After maintaining control in the third quarter, Purcell's Bulldogs managed to pull away in the fourth quarter to get that aforementioned double-digit victory.
Mississippi State out-rebounded Florida by a margin of 43-30 and outscored the Gators in the paint 46-28. MSU really did well in just about every aspect of this game. That said, there are still some things that are a bit concerning.
Like how Florida's bench scored 49 points all while MSU's bench only put up 19 points. That seems like an issue. I don't know how Purcell and the Bulldogs overcome that depth discrepency in bigger, more important contests.
But, let's celebrate for now. With the win over Florida, Mississippi State moves to 16-5 overall and 3-3 in the SEC all while the Gators are dropping down to 10-7 overall and 1-4 vs. SEC competition.