No. 6 Mississippi State routs Jackson State 88-58

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Preseason All-SEC player Rickea Jackson was one of four Mississippi State players to score in double figures as the No. 6 Bulldogs opened up the Nikki McCray-Penson era with an 88-58 victory over Jackson State on Sunday.

The Bulldogs played the Tigers in a game that was scheduled late in the week unexpectedly. They were slated to play in the Women’s Hall of Fame Challenge in Connecticut before participant UConn shut down team activities for two weeks due to COVID-19 concerns.

It was a rocky start for the Bulldogs in the opening quarter as they made just 5 of 18 shots in the opening quarter and led 14-4. The bad news for the Tigers is that they were held without a single made shot during that stretch.

MSU took full control in the next two quarters scoring 26 points in the second to push the halftime lead to 40-19. They led 74-33 after three quarters which was more than enough to overcome a fourth quarter in which the Bulldogs did not score for the final 5 minutes and were outscored 13-0 to close it out.

Jackson finished the game with 19 points on 8 of 18 shooting and added seven rebounds and four assists. Preseason second-team All-SEC center Jessika Carter had 14 points on 6 of 8, JaMya Mingo-Young had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Myah Taylor finished with 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.

The Bulldogs (1-0) finished the game hitting 41 percent of its shots with 12 of 29 coming from behind the arc. They outrebounded the Tigers 55-41 and had 23 assists.

Dayzsha Rogan led the Tigers (0-1) with 16 points while Starkville native Jariyah Covington had 12 points and was 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

BIG PICTURE:

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs were starting a new era of basketball under head coach Nikki McCray-Penson and in strange circumstances with a late-scheduled contest against Jackson State. There were no fans in attendance and the Bulldogs were sloppy at times but they found their groove to get things off to a big start.

Jackson State: Following the school’s first SWAC regular-season championship last season, the Tigers are looking for big things this season. The loss doesn’t damper the expectations that Tomeika Reed has for her team as they were outmatched at every position against the top 10 Bulldogs.

UP NEXT:

Mississippi State hosts New Orleans on Wednesday.

Jackson State travels to Stephen F. Austin on Thursday.