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Bulldogs gut out 66-57 win over Davidson to open women's hoops season

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk11/04/25RobbieFaulkOn3
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Destiney McPhaul and Chandler Prater (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

A new look Mississippi State women’s basketball team took the court on Monday night to tipoff basketball season at the Humphrey Coliseum and there were some growing pains.

With just two returning contributors from last year’s squad, the new faces are still in the process of building chemistry. That showed for four quarters against Davidson as the Bulldogs struggled to put the visitors away but survived a scare with a 66-57 victory.

“Huge win. I know the general fan who knows nothing about Davidson, but I told you they’re good. That’s an NCAA Tournament team,” head coach Sam Purcell said. “Five of the six players are returning with International players that nobody knows about. That’s their Super Bowl game. I could not be more excited about the great win and most importantly we’re going to get better.”

The Bulldogs fought through sloppy play with a bevy of turnovers and fouls as well as struggles scoring points, but State closed the ball game strong. Tied at 47 early in the fourth, State would outscore Davidson 15-5 to extend the lead out to double digits and they would get the win.

It was a sloppy ball game all the way around for the Bulldogs. State was 21-of-31 (68%) from the free throw line, had 18 turnovers and committed 20 fouls in the game. Trayanna Crisp and Chandler Prater especially had troubles staying in the game as they had four fouls each. Crisp had just three points in her Bulldog debut filling in for point guard Saniyah King who is out with an ankle injury.

“Sometimes you just have to win ugly. You’ve got to be the tougher team,” Purcell said. “We don’t lose at home. There’s a spirit about this place, our fans are awesome and I thought they were huge to get us to an opening day win.”

McPhaul has career night

Destiney McPhaul carried the load for State’s offense in the game with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. The senior guard had five rebounds and two steals.

McPhaul scored 12 of those points in a first half that was very rusty for State.

“I played decent. Could have done a lot of things better,” McPhaul said. “Overall I gave my team energy and I loved it.”

 The Bulldogs led just 15-14 after a quarter and it was tied 31-31 at the half after the Bulldogs committed 12 turnovers.

The third quarter had some back and forth but State would push the lead to 47-44 heading to the final frame. After a three tied the game on the opening possession of the fourth, State had its best quarter outscoring Davidson 19-10 the rest of the way to clinch the win.

State outrebounded the Wildcats 42-27 in the game with 14 offensive boards and 18 second chance points. The Bulldogs had just seven assists in the game while shooting 21-of-51 with 3-of-9 shooting from three.

Jaylah Lampley made a nice impression in her debut as the four-star freshman had 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting with six rebounds and two blocks. Another newcomer in Favour Nwaedozi had 10 points on just 3-of-10 shooting but finished with 10 rebounds to record a double-double in her debut. Highly touted freshman Madison Francis finished with eight points in her debut but blocked six shots and had four rebounds in 31 minutes.

The win moved the Bulldogs to 1-0 as the season begins but more work is yet to be done. Friday morning will present another opportunity for State as the Bulldogs host Georgia State for the annual Kid’s Day at the Hump. The game will tip off at 11 a.m.

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