Bulldogs brace for tough matchup with the Tigers
Those who just recently began following Mississippi State women's basketball might not remember a time where the LSU Tigers owned the Bulldogs year after year.
LSU won 47 of the first 53 games of the series and it wasn't until 2016 that head coach Vic Schaefer got his first win over the Tigers and bucked that trend. Since that 2016 triumph in Baton Rouge, MSU has won sixstraight in the series and won as many games since 2017 as it did the previous 40 years.
While the LSU teams of old aren't walking through the doors of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, this is still a solid Tiger team coached by veteran coach Nikki Fargas. LSU stands 13-3 and 3-1 in Southeastern Conference play and just a week ago they beat No. 10 Texas A&M on the road.
Schaefer believes the Tigers will be hyped up to be at Humphrey Coliseum tonight for the 7 p.m. tip in Starkville on SEC Network+.
“I'm sure they'll be ready to play here,” Schaefer said. “We've got to be ready and I think our kids have done a really good job the last couple of days. (LSU is) just so committed to pick and roll basketball and they're really physical. They've got some great wins and Nikki has them playing at a high level.”
The No. 10 Bulldogs (15-2, 3-0) are back in the top 10 for the first time since backto-back losses to top 25 teams Stanford and West Virginia and they're in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, including taking the first three SEC games.
For Schaefer, it's a time where he would have liked to continue playing after the road wins at Georgia and Missouri back to back, but his team had last Sunday off.
“Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not so good,” Schaefer said of the off date. “We were playing pretty well and I hated the time off. I'm sure the kids would disagree. We got back after it and we're getting ready for a really good LSU team.”
Scoring 83.8 points a game and holding opponents to 57.6, the Bulldogs have been solid at the midway point of the season. They're turning teams over at a very high rate at 22.3 a game and the rebounding production is getting better.
Improvement was expected out of a team full of freshmen and sophomores. First year player Rickea Jackson has emerged as one of the SEC'S top scorers with 13.5 points a game and 4.6 rebounds. She's at an uptick in production over the last few weeks and she's averaging 19.3 points a game in SEC play
which leads all freshmen in the league. It earned her SEC Freshman of the Week honors just a couple of weeks ago.
“I just think she's getting more and more comfortable playing harder longer and playing in the college system more than anything,” Schaefer said of Jackson. “I think her teammates have put her in position to be successful but at the same time, her energy going to the boards and rebounding has been a factor for us.”
Jackson is joined in double figures by sophomore center Jessika Carter, who is averaging 13 points and 9.9 rebounds, and then there's the lone senior on the team in Jordan Danberry, who is playing on a different level than most with her 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 49 total steals this year.
Danberry continues to be a guiding light for young players like Myah Taylor and others who are beginning to get major minutes in the SEC. She's helped keep the Bulldogs around the top of the league and she's got a chance to help get them to 4-0 in SEC play tonight.
“One thing about Jordan is she's going to give me my props when I'm doing good, but she's going to let me know when I'm messing up and doing wrong and for that, I'm forever grateful,” Taylor said of Danberry. “With her being a senior leader on this team, when she says something, everyone is engaged and listening. When she's energized, it makes it fun and easier and everybody seems to follow her.”