Purcell has a big job ahead
Bulldogs coach needs to reload roster to get back into March Madness
After Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Sam Purcell walked off the Humphrey Coliseum court on Feb. 11, he stepped into the arena’s media room with a matter-of-fact description about what had just happened.
The Bulldogs’ five-game winning streak had come to an end with a 90-70 loss against Florida, but Purcell wasn’t overly worried about where the season was headed. The Gators had shot 61% from the field, and 61% from 3-point range, to have one of their top offensive outings of the season.
To Purcell, the showing was an unfortunate loss that Mississippi State could recover from.
“This can’t be a mindset that, you know what, our season is done,” Purcell said of his message to the team. “Because if you would’ve told me two weeks ago that you’ve got a chance to (win) five of six, I’d take it every single day of the week.”
Instead, the defeat sparked the ultimate downfall of the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Mississippi State lost its next four games, edged out a lowly Missouri
team in the regular season finale and lost to Texas A&M in the SEC tournament.
The Bulldogs had a chance to make a run toward strong March Madness seeding. They instead finished in the WBIT – a second-tier tournament No. 2 seed Mississippi State was eliminated from on Thursday with a 92-87 loss at No. 1 seed Penn State.
“I think we had a good season,” assistant Corry Irvin said postgame. “This is Year 2 for Coach Purcell. We were over 20 wins again, back into the postseason. I think we have a lot to build on for next year. I think overall we had a great season. This tournament is a great tournament too. Obviously, we wanted to be in the NCAA (Tournament).”
Purcell came to Starkville with yearly aspirations of making March Madness. In his words, Mississippi State finished in, “the Little Dance.”
Now, he embarks on a critical offseason to assemble a roster capable of putting together a complete resume instead of one sitting in a familiar spot – the bubble.
The transfer portal allows teams to retool instead of rebuild. Purcell inherited a tough situation with him stepping in as the program’s third coach since Vic
Schaefer’s departure for Texas in 2020.
Purcell utilized the portal to build depth, but much of his success was built on inherited players such as forward Jessika Carter and guard Jerkaila Jordan. In his first season, Mississippi State was among the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament and won two games before being eliminated in the third round.
He retained starters in Carter, Jordan and Debreasha Powe, but his second season featured a stronger portal class. He added a pair of All-Big East players in Lauren Park-Lane and Darrione Rogers along with All-SEC forward Erynn Barnum.
Expectations were high, and MSU had a 7-3 start to SEC play. A battle with tonsillitis drained Jordan down the stretch, but Mississippi State shouldn’t have been in a spot where an at-large bid was a worry.
Purcell will enter his third season with Jordan returning and Rogers likely joining her. They accompany a group of promising freshmen – Mjracle Sheppard, Quanirah Montague and Jasmine Brown-Hagger – becoming sophomores. But Carter, an All-SEC selection averaging 14.9 points and 9.9 rebounds, will be gone.
The portal will again be critical. The coming weeks could determine MSU’s fate for next March.