STARKVILLE • The Mississippi women’s basketball team had 10 days off before tonight’s qualifying match.
The State of Mississippi in 21st place receives South Carolina No. 4 tonight at 6 pm at the Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
MSU (8-4, 3-3 SEC) lost two in a row, 86-78 to Alabama and 69-41 to Texas A&M’s 8th position. The 28-point loss to Texas A&M was on January 17.
The Bulldogs haven’t played since.
“We are excited to play and it is a great week for us to continue working and improving,” said MSU coach Nikki McCray-Penson. “We made a lot of moves to try to stay in shape. You don’t like the long layoff, but it’s not a bad thing if you’re getting better. “
South Carolina (12-1, 7-0) leads the overall series by 19-10, but the teams have divided the last six.
Since the start of the 2018 season, teams have been 3-3 against each other, but South Carolina has currently won two in a row. The Gamecocks defeated the State of Mississippi in Columbia last year, 81-79, and then defeated the Bulldogs again in the SEC championship game, 76-62.
“This was a rivalry game,” said McCray-Penson. “I was part of a program in South Carolina, where we developed it and I was also part of that program when I saw the state of Mississippi build its program. It has definitely become a rivalry game for us. “
Familiar enemy
McCray-Penson has been on the South Carolina team for several years and helped South Carolina beat the State of Mississippi in the National Championship game in 2017. She also helped lead South Carolina to four consecutive championships in the regular season. SEC and three SEC tournament championships.
This will be her first time as a coach against South Carolina since leaving Gamecocks after the 2017 season. She has not faced USC in any of her three seasons as an Old Dominion coach.
“It’s like a family,” said McCray-Penson of the meeting. “I am a relationship person and these are long-term relationships. They are family to me. I will be very excited to see them and talk to them after the game. But we are all competitors and we want to win and win the right way. “