Bulldogs look to sharpen up some areas
It was a win and it was a by a large margin when Mississippi State beat Troy 10376 on Monday night, but there were still things that Nikki Mccray-penson didn’t like.
For a second-straight game, for example, the Bulldogs struggled to keep the other team from getting second chances. Troy had 20 offensive rebounds in the game and it led to other opportunities in a game that the Bulldogs could have won by an even larger margin.
While State had plenty of positives in the game like the team-record 18 3-pointers, Mccray-penson has a broader picture she’s trying to paint for her No. 13 Bulldogs – like competing for a conference and national championship.
“I think some positives were that we shared the ball and we hit shots,” Mccraypenson said. “When a team packs it in and takes away our inside game, you’ve got to be able to shoot the ball. We’ve got to be better at transition defense. Part of that is communication. We’ve got to be able to rebound out of transition. That’s an area where we’ve got to get better. Just overall guarding better because we’re not where we need to be defensively.”
MSU has had trouble each of the last two games getting those defensive rebounds as South Florida had 23 in a game that the Bulldogs lost in overtime and the Trojans added 20. The frustrating thing for Mccray-penson is that it was something that she noted would be a challenge coming into the game and the players knew about it as well.
Rickea Jackson wasn’t happy about it herself after the game against Troy. The star State shooter said that the team must do better crashing the boards on that end of the floor. It wasn’t lost on her despite dropping 30 points.
“There were many things that we still did wrong,” Jackson said of the Troy game. “Coach Nikki and coach Keith (Freeman) gave us the blueprint of the scout so there were things that we did wrong like offensive rebounds. They were a team that really ran to the boards and we still gave up 20 offensive rebounds. I don’t think it’ll be hard to dissect it.”
All of that said, the Bulldogs showed that they can be a multiple offense on Monday.
For a team that shot just 32% from 3-point range last year with four makes a game, State is now taking what their given from the defense and they’re perfectly fine with busting it from long range.
State is shooting 39% in the first four games from long range with over nine makes a game. The 18 3-pointers against Troy were one shy of tying the Southeastern Conference record for a game. The team is averaging 90 points a game but they’ve also shown that they can dominate inside if they’re needed there as well.
It’s an offense that’s designed to take whatever the defense gives the Bulldogs and not be hamstrung on one thing. Mccray-penson is careful to make sure that the team doesn’t fall in love with the 3-point shot as well, but she’s giving them the green light if it’s there.
“I want our kids to be ready to hit shots,” Mccraypenson said. “I think at this point we know what people’s strengths are and they know what their strengths are. “I do think for the most part that we are taking what the defense gives us. We want to continue to work this ball and get to the second and third side of our offense and still have a great understanding of what we’re looking for.”
One player gaining confidence in her outside shot is Jackson, who is coming off of a freshman season when she shot just 13-of-31 from 3-point range. Through four games, Jackson has already gone 10-of-22 and is averaging 20.8 points a game which is third in the SEC.
The ALL-SEC player also averages 6.5 rebounds a game and is a walking problem for opposing teams. Mccraypenson has said the sky is the limit for Jackson and she’s just scratching the surface.
“I just want her to continue to evolve and it starts in practice,” Mccray-penson said. “My biggest challenge to her is to dominate practice so she can dominate games and that’s for all of our players. When she’s fatigued, she has to understand that she doesn’t have to settle for a 3 or a jump shot. For her, it’s just continuing to take good shots and making her teammates better.”
The Bulldogs (3-1) are back at home tonight hosting Southern University (0-4) for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The game can be seen on the SEC Network+.