Matharu latest Bulldog to enter transfer portal
Hits continue to come for a Mississippi State women’s basketball program that is looking for some relief.
A source confirmed that the Bulldogs will have their sixth transfer from the current roster as sophomore guard Aliyah Matharu has entered the transfer portal. Matharu was one of the team’s most efficient offensive scorers in comparison to minutes played during her two years in Starkville but is now on the move.
The Washington, D.C. native averaged 8.2 points a game in just 14.2 minutes during her 52 games played in two seasons. She averaged just 9.9 minutes as a freshman but made 33-of-87 3-pointers and scored 7.1 points a game as she became a fan favorite as the year went along.
In Nikki Mccray-penson’s first year, Matharu became a part time starter drawing a start in six games out of 19. Her minutes jumped from 9.9 to 21.7 and her points jumped as well as she averaged 10.2 points per game and improved her rebounding from 1.8 as a freshman to 3.5 this season.
After receiving a technical foul for something she said to a referee in the LSU game, Matharu was benched for the second half in the Southeastern Conference Tournament game and never returned to action. That proved to be her final game as a Bulldog.
Matharu came to Starkville from prestigious Bishop Mcnamara High School and she signed with former head coach Vic Schaefer as an unknown guard capable of scoring in bunches. By season’s end, Matharu jumped to a five-star recruit by ESPNW and was considered one of the fastest risers in the country.
She’s now the third player in a four-player class in 2019 that has decided to transfer in the last two seasons. MSU’S 2019 class was the highest ranked in school history at No. 8 but Jayla Hemingway transferred after last season to play at West Virginia, Jamya Mingo-young transferred shortly after the season ended this year and Matharu is planning to leave now as well. Former top 10 prospect
and Mcdonald’s All-american Rickea Jackson is the only player to remain from that group.
Matharu joins a growing list of transfers for Mccray-penson. It began with Xaria Wiggins, followed by Mingo-young and graduates Sidney Cooks and Yemiyah Morris. On Monday, Freshman ALL-SEC player Madison Hayes entered the portal as well, becoming one of the biggest surprises of the group to leave.
A source said that as of right now, there weren’t any other players expecting to transfer though those decisions are always subject to change. MSU is down to just six roster players for 2021-22 as Jackson is joined by Myah Taylor, Kn’isha Godfrey, Jessika Carter, Charlotte Kohl and sixth-year senior Caterrion Thompson.
Mccray-penson is bringing in three more freshmen with four-star guard Jasmine Shavers, point guard Mia Moore and wing Denae Carter. The coach is expected to fill the rest of the roster up with the transfer portal.