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Second quarter blisters Panthers as Mississippi State wins 88-62 on Education Day

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk11/07/25RobbieFaulkOn3
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Mississippi State women's basketball team celebrates a made bucket. (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

As 6,000 local students packed inside Humphrey Coliseum on Friday afternoon, their energy would translate to the play on the court.

An 11 a.m. start had Mississippi State a little sleep in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs woke up. A 32-point second frame had State cruising all the way to a 88-62 victory over Georgia State.

“That is the loudest game of the year,” coach Sam Purcell said. “I think this is a great game for the state because as the state school, what are we about? Imagine a young girl or boy who’s never been able to come to a game. Today, they were able to get on a bus with their classmates and come to a game. Now we’re talking about a future Bulldog, or Olympian or somebody who plays in the WNBA. That’s what this game is about.”

The 3-point shot was the jumpstart for State as the Bulldogs hit 10-of-20 in the game. After the first quarter, it was a 9-for-15 finish for State from long distance. Destiney McPhaul and junior college newcomer Awa Fane were the sharpshooters in this one as McPhaul had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-5 3-pointers and Fane made 3-of-4 threes for 11 points in her second game in maroon and white.

“I don’t know exactly what it was, but we’ve got to be ready from the jump,” McPhaul said of the first quarter. “No matter if it was a 11 a.m. or 7 p.m. game, we’ve got to be ready.”

The Bulldogs started the game in a struggle. The team trailed 4-0 out of the gates before getting the 17-10 lead after one while the two squads combined to shoot 9-of-34 from the field.

In the second quarter, things heated up. The Bulldogs would shoot the cover off the ball behind Fane and McPhaul to outscore the Panthers 32-12 and take a commanding 49-22 lead. The largest lead came in the third quarter when State had a 72-33 lead.

Purcell wasn’t happy with the second half effort from the defense. The Bulldogs surrendered 21 points in the third quarter and 40 points total in the second half.

“Second half is unacceptable,” Purcell said. “I told them that there’s a standard. I knew that we were going to win the game, but I’ve got to build this team with 10 new players and we’ve got to have that dawg mentality. We’re going to have a nice little come to Jesus talk tomorrow at practice.”

Newcomers impress for State

In the win, State shot 52% (33-of-63) and made double digit threes. The Bulldogs were 12-of-16 from the free throw line and outrebounded the Panthers 45-27 with 42 points in the paint and 21 assists.  

Favour Nwaedozi finished with her second double-double in as many games as she had 17 points and 10 rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes. The transfer from Nigeria also had three assist and two blocks in the win.

“Coach Sam came up to me and said, ‘this is your game. Eat it up,’” Nwaedozi said. “I guess I did that. After the first game, coach Fred (Castro) pulled me in and worked with me because I was rushing in the first game. He taught me to slow down.”

Also in double figures was freshman Jaylah Lampley who had 12 points on 5-of-8 and seven rebounds. Fellow freshman Madison Francis struggled with foul trouble and had five turnovers, but she finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

State (2-0) will now look to win its third game in week one as the Bulldogs host Mississippi Valley State on Sunday afternoon inside the Hump. Game time is set for 2 p.m. on SEC Network +.

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