MSU’s Purcell adds assistant Howard to staff
Sam Purcell added a new assistant coach to his women's basketball staff on Monday as Mississippi State landed former Georgia Southern head coach Anita Howard.
The Alabama native stays close to home as she makes the move over the
Starkville after spending the last five seasons leading the charge for the Eagles. She has a 144-55 record in seven years coaching college basketball.
“With over a decade of head coaching experience, Anita Howard is a phenomenal addition to our staff,” Purcell in a released statement. “She embodies all of the qualities of a proven winner. Her knowledge of the game, energy and passion for our vision here are undeniable. She is a world-class person, mother, wife and mentor that will prove to be a great resource to our student-athletes and staff. She has grown through the coaching ranks, excelling at each stop, and there is no doubt that her experience and tireless work ethic will make her successful once more here within our program.”
Howard had her best season two years ago when she led the squad to a 21-10 record and produced the most productive year for the Eagles in 20 years. Georgia Southern had not had a 20-win year since 2002-03 before she helped the team notch that mark and produced the most wins since 2000-01.
That season marked fourstraight years of progress for the coach. She took over an Eagle team that had won just seven games prior to her arrival and they won 10 in her first year, 11 in year two and then finished 18-10 in 2021-22 with the first season over .500 in conference play since 2009-10 when they finished 8-6. Her Eagles were 12-6 in 2022-23 which was the best record since that 2009-10 season.
During her time in Statesboro, Howard had teams that were among the top 10 nationally in offense. Her 2021-22 team was fifth in the country with 79.3 points per game and 46.4 rebounds a contest.
Prior to Georgia Southern, Howard was the head coach for Division II Columbus
State where she led the team to a 66-25 record over three seasons with two trips to a national championship and an Elite 8 appearance. The coach also had stops as a head coach at Livingstone State and Salem College coaching Division III basketball.
“I am very excited to be a part of such a proud program and conference,” Howard said. “It is very clear that after I met with coach Purcell that our values and priorities aligned. His passion for this community, program, University and his vision for what we can accomplish here are unmatched. I know that my experience and work ethic will fit right in. I look forward to not only supporting this staff, but continuing to raise the standard here. I am truly blessed to be here and can't wait to get to work.”
Howard is replacing the vacated spot left by former assistant Corry Irvin who left MSU last week to take the head coaching job at Chicago State. The Bulldogs are also replacing assistant Murriel Page who is expected to be replaced by former Eastern Michigan head coach Fred Castro.
According to sources, Castro is expected to officially be named the Associate Head coach of the Bulldogs this week.
The Bulldog staff is working hard in the transfer portal to turn over a roster that is losing several contributors from this past season. MSU hosted big names in the portal this week like Kentucky's Eniya Russell, LSU's Hailey Van Lith and Penn State's Lailani Kapinus.
Russell commits to MSU
Mississippi State got its first transfer portal addition of the year on Monday as the Bulldogs landed Russell.
Fresh off of a visit to Starkville over the weekend, Russell starts what Purcell is hoping is a strong transfer portal haul. The talented former Wildcats player was Kentucky's most valuable bench player this past season.
Russell is ranked as the No. 21 player in the transfer portal according to Charlie Crème of ESPN.com.
As a senior, Russell played in 32 games this past year in Lexington with two starts and she averaged 10.1 points and made 41.2% of her shots while hitting 69% of her free throws, pulling down 3.6 rebounds and dishing out 1.5 assists per game.
Against the Bulldogs this past * season, Russell was an issue. She scored 15 points in an overtime loss against MSU at Rupp Arena as she made 7-of-14 shots. In game two at Humphrey Coliseum, Russell had 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds as she helped her team to a 78-68 upset.
Russell scored 20 or more points four times this past season, including a careerhigh 24 points in a 81-77 win over Florida.
Prior to last season, Russell averaged 3.7 points per game in 23 games with the Wildcats. She played her first two seasons with South Carolina and was on the national championship team in 2021-22 averaging 2.3 points a contest. She averaged 2.7 as a freshman for coach Dawn Staley in 26 games off of the bench.
Russell was the No. 43 player nationally by ESPNW coming out of Baltimore, Maryland, in 2020 and was a McDonald's All-American. She was on the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun's All-Metro team for her final two seasons of high school basketball.
The talented 6-0 guard is a big domino for Purcell and his staff as its working to restructure the roster.
Bulldog Carter picked No. 23 in WNBA Draft
Jessika Carter's long basketball journey is taking her to the WNBA.
After leaving her mark at Mississippi State following a six-year career, Carter heard her name called in Monday night's WNBA Draft. The 6-4 senior center was drafted 23rd overall with a secondround selection to the New York Liberty.
In six years with the Bulldogs, Carter left her mark in Starkville. She played in a school-record 152 games with 114 starts. Carter finished with 1,773 career points, 1,125 rebounds and 240 blocked shots during that time and was twice named second-team All-SEC. Her 15.2 points and 9.7 rebounds this season were career highs.
Carter finished her career second in rebounds, third in blocks and fifth in points.
The selection of Carter was the ninth in MSU history and the fourth for the Bulldogs since 2018. She's the first player since Teaira McCowan and Anriel Howard to be drafted and that was back in 2019.The selection to the Liberty marks the first for a former Bulldog in school history.
The Liberty are among the WNBA's best teams. Last season, the team finished second in the league with a 32-8 record and were just behind the champion Las Vegas Aces.
New York has built a strong roster with Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu already on board and rookie draft picks Marquesha Davis from Ole Miss and former MSU commitment Esmery Martinez from Arizona joining Carter.
The WNBA season tips off in mid-May for Vivians, McCowan and Carter. The Liberty will start the regular season on Tuesday, May 14, with a road trip to play the Washington Mystics.
Rogers decides to transfer
Another Mississippi State women's basketball player is headed to the transfer portal this offseason.
Darrione Rogers announced her intentions to finish her career elsewhere with a social media post on Tuesday.
“Bulldog fans, thank you all for your amazing support this season – it truly meant the world to me,” Rogers said. “I've decided to enter my name in the transfer portal to pursue new opportunities. This decision was tough, but know that my time as a Bulldog has been unforgettable because of you.”
Rogers was an important part of the Bulldogs' season in her one year in Starkville. While spending most of her time coming off of the bench for head coach Sam Purcell, Rogers was vital through 36 games.
She provided 8.1 points per game in 22.7 minutes while making 39% of her shots and hitting 38% from 3-point range with a teamleading 60 made shots from downtown. Rogers was also an exceptional free-throw shooter as she made 87% of those. She finished with 3.5 rebounds a contest and 2.4 assists as well.
Rogers started in seven games this season with three of those starts coming in the final three games of the year as the Bulldogs made a run to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.
The Chicago native scored 20 or more points twice and one of her more impactful performances was a 19-point effort off the bench as MSU stunned defending national champion LSU. Rogers hit 6-of-10 shots that game and made 4-of-8 3-pointers to help the Bulldogs get the upset win at Humphrey Coliseum.