Carter Leads Mississippi State Over Ole Miss, 69-57
Credit: Mississippi State Athletics
Graduate student center Jessika Carter finished with 23 points on 11-15 from the field with five rebounds in 37 minutes to lead Mississippi State to a 69-57 victory over rival Ole Miss inside Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday.
With the win, Mississippi State has won consecutive SEC contests and improved to 15-4 on the season.
She has now turned in 45 points and 24 rebounds over the last two SEC contests after a slower start to conference play by the All-SEC and Wooden Award Watch List Carter’s standards.
Graduate student guard Lauren Park-Lane posted 13 points and a team-high eight assists in 35 minutes, while freshman guard Mjracle Sheppard added eight points and three assists in 22 minutes. All eight of Sheppard’s points came in the first half on 4-4 from the field.
Mississippi State held Ole Miss to only two points over the final 5:52 minutes of action and ended the contest on a 13-2 run over the last 7:11 minutes.
In a game that featured 10 ties and nine lead changes, the margin never rose above five points for either team before sophomore guard Debreasha Powe knocked down a left wing three to extend Mississippi State’s lead to 65-57 with 2:52 left in regulation.
Mississippi State jumped out to an 8-4 lead by establishing its presence inside scoring the first eight points either in the paint or at the foul line after attacking the basket. Ole Miss knocked down the final shot of the quarter to take a 14-12 lead at the end of the opening 10 minutes.
The second quarter featured more of the back and forth affair before Ole Miss opened up a 18-14 lead on a 6-0 run to start the frame. Mississippi State immediately responded with its largest scoring run of the afternoon and used a 9-0 run to take a 27-22 lead and force a timeout.
Sheppard beat the first-half buzzer on a driving finish inside to secure Mississippi State a 31-30 lead heading into the locker room. Mississippi State forced Ole Miss into nine first-half turnovers.
Back-to-back threes from Powe and Park-Lane provided Mississippi State with a 39-36 lead halfway into the third quarter. The two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the remainder of the period with three lead changes over the final half of the third quarter.
Trailing 51-49 heading into the fourth quarter, Mississippi State outscored their visitors 20-6 in the frame.
Mississippi State outscored Ole Miss 40-19 in the paint.
Mississippi State remains home to take on Tennessee inside Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday.
