Hoops Preview: Lady Vols at Mississippi State

Tennessee (17-8, 9-1 SEC), which is receiving votes in both polls, travels to Starkville to take on Mississippi State (15-7, 4-5 SEC) on Monday at 6 p.m. Central Time (7 p.m. ET) at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Lady Vols enter the contest residing a game back of South Carolina and LSU in third place in the SEC standings, while the Bulldogs are tied with Arkansas in sixth entering the league games of Feb. 5-6.

The Bulldogs and Lady Vols will meet for the 47th time in a series that dates back to 1986, with the Lady Vols holding a 39-7 advantage and winning the past two meetings, including an 80-69 victory in Knoxville earlier this season on Jan. 5.

Kellie Harper‘s squad enters having won 10 of its past 12 games and 15 of its last 19, with the only losses coming vs. (then) No. 9/9 Virginia Tech (59-56) on Dec. 4, at No. 2/2 Stanford on Dec. 18 (77-70), vs. No. 5/4 UConn on Jan. 26 in Knoxville (84-67) and at No. 3/3 LSU (76-68) on Jan. 30.

The match-up vs. MSU is the second of two straight vs. schools from the Magnolia State, as the Big Orange women prevailed over Ole Miss, 65-51, on Thursday night in Knoxville. The Lady Vols got 20 points from Jordan Horston and 16 from Rickea Jackson, while 5-foot-8 guard Jordan Walker led UT with eight rebounds and four steals en route to the 14-point win over the SEC’s fourth-place team.

Mississippi State was idle on Thursday, but has lost two straight after falling to Ole Miss at Oxford, 78-63, on Jan. 26. and to Georgia in Athens, 62-34, on Jan. 29. MSU suffered a 12-45 (26.7) shooting effort vs. UGA, including 2-for-15 misery beyond the arc, and committed 27 turnovers. Of note, MSU is 10-2 at home this season, falling there to only #1 South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Broadcast Information

Monday night’s game will be televised on SEC Network, with Brenda VanLengen (PxP) and Aja Ellison (Analyst) on the call.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice on the call and Andy Brock serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
The Lady Vol Network broadcast also can be heard frequently on satellite radio via SiriusXM (Ch. 81) and the SXM App (Ch. 81).

Trading Places

Lady Vol senior Rickea Jackson transferred to Tennessee during the offseason after playing the first three seasons of her career at Mississippi State.
Jackson played for three different head coaches during her time in Starkville, including Vic Schaefer, Nikki McCray-Penson and Doug Novak.
Jackson was a two-time WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection and was a 2019-20 All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Freshman and SEC All-Tournament honoree.
In her only appearance vs. Tennessee, Jackson tallied 14 points and nine rebounds for Mississippi State in the No. 8/8 Bulldogs’ 72-55 win over No. 23/25 UT in Knoxville on Feb. 6, 2020.
Mississippi State’s Anastasia Hayes, who hails from Murfreesboro, Tenn., played her freshman season as a Lady Vol.
Hayes was the 2017-18 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year at UT before spending 2018-21 at Middle Tennessee State and 2021-23 at Mississippi State.
In a visit to Knoxville with MSU on Feb. 24, 2022, Hayes and the Bulldogs dropped an 86-64 decision to Tennessee. They also fell, 80-69, on Jan. 5, 2023.
UT faced Anastasia Hayes and her sister Aislynn Hayes, also at Mississippi State now, when they were both at Middle Tennessee State. The Lady Vols handled the Blue Raiders in the NCAA First Round in Austin, Texas, on March 21, 2021, 87-62.

Familiar Faces From Other Places

Second-year UT assistant coach Samantha Williams and first-year Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell were assistants together for Jeff Walz at Louisville for seven seasons from 2013-14 to 2019-20.
Bulldog graduate Ahlana Smith played the last two seasons at Louisville before joining Purcell in Starkville.
Smith played against Tennessee last season in the NCAA Sweet 16 in Wichita, Kansas, seeing only four minutes of duty and going 0-1 from the field. She had nine points and seven boards vs. UT in the first matchup this year on Jan. 5.
Bulldog Ramani Parker also followed Purcell from Louisville after spending three seasons with the Cardinals. Parker did not appear in the game vs. UT last season or the one in 2022-23.
Second-year Lady Vol assistant coach Joy McCorvey was previously at Florida State, where Mississippi State graduate guard Kourtney Weber played from 2018-22. McCorvey was on staff in Tallahassee during Weber’s first two years there.

UT’S Unlucky Draw Of Idle Opponents

In a strange SEC scheduling quirk, the Bulldogs will be UT’s third straight league road opponent to face the Lady Vols while enjoying an open date beforehand.
Mississippi State last played at Georgia on Jan. 29, while LSU and Missouri had open dates on Jan. 26 and Jan. 19, respectively, before welcoming Tennessee to their venues.

Looking Back At The Ole Miss Game

Tennessee bounced back from a pair of setbacks to top-five teams, utilizing solid defense and timely buckets to secure a 65-51 wire-to-wire victory over Ole Miss in Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday night to improve to 9-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
Senior guard Jordan Horston was the game’s top scorer with 20 points, adding seven rebounds and five assists. Senior forward Rickea Jackson was also in double digits for UT (17-8, 9-1 SEC) with 16, while 5-foot-8 graduate guard Jordan Walker paced the Big Orange on the boards with eight to go along with a game-high four steals, four assists and six points.
Angel Baker and Marquesha Davis led UM (18-5, 7-3 SEC) with 14 and 11 points, respectively, as Tennessee held the Rebels to their lowest point production of the season. The 51 points by Ole Miss also represents the fewest surrendered by UT in league play and the second fewest of the season behind the 39 they allowed Chattanooga on December 6.

Lady Vol Odds & Ends

JILL & JOJO EMERGING: In UT’s last four games, Jillian Hollingshead (8.8 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 64% FG) and Jordan Walker (7.8 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 3.3 apg., 2.2 spg.) have noticeably increased their production.
JORDY ELEVATING HER GAME: Jordan Horston is leading Tennessee in scoring at 19.3 ppg. over the past four games, upping her season average to 15.7.
NO. 2 DUE FOR 20: Rickea Jackson leads the Lady Vols with eight 20-point scoring efforts this season and is tops in scoring average (17.7) and field goal pct. (55.0).
DANDY DISHING: Jordan Horston ranks third among SEC players in league games at 4.22 assists per game, while Jordan Walker is No. 7 in apg. (3.7) and No. 3 in assist/turnover ratio (2.06).
TESS AMONG SEC “3” LEADERS: Tess Darby ranks No. 2 in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage in league games (36.7) and No. 3 in three-pointers made (2.2).
THESE POSTS HAVE RANGE: Karoline Striplin (3-6) and Jillian Hollingshead (1-2) are hitting 50 percent beyond the arc in SEC games and aren’t afraid to let it fly.

Tennessee/MSU Notes

UT is 18-3 vs. MSU in Knoxville, 17-2 vs. the Bulldogs in Starkville and 4-2 at neutral sites.
State has a 1-0 record in overtime games between these programs, winning a 65-63 affair in Starkville on Jan. 29, 2016.
UT and MSU have met six times in the SEC Tournament, with the Lady Vols owning a 4-2 record.
Kellie Harper is 2-1 in her career vs. Mississippi State, winning on Jan. 5, 2023, 80-69, and on Feb. 24 in Knoxville last season, 86-64, while dropping a 72-55 decision in her first season at UT on Feb. 6, 2020, 72-55, on The Summitt to the (then) No. 8 Bulldogs.
Harper was 5-0 as a Lady Vol player vs. MSU from 1995-99.

A Look At The Bulldogs

Mississippi State enters with two players scoring in double figures: Jessika Carter (15.4 ppg.) and JerKaila Jordan (10.3 ppg.). Debreasha Powe (9.7 ppg.) is right behind them, while Carter leads in rebounds as well at 8.0 rpg.
Carter is No. 9 in the NCAA in total blocks (54) and No. 21 in field goal percentage (58.1).
MSU is ranked No. 7 nationally in field goal percentage defense at 34.5 pct., No. 14 in three-point percentage defense (25.9), No. 16 in blocks per game (5.1 spg.), No. 19 in scoring margin (+16.0) and No. 22 in scoring defense (allowing 55.4 ppg).
The Bulldogs are forcing 18.6 turnovers per contest.

Mississippi State’s Last Game

Mississippi State fell to 15-7 overall and 4-5 in the conference after a 62-34 loss at Georgia on Jan. 29.
The Bulldogs struggled on offense in Athens, scoring 34 points, their fewest of the season, while shooting 27 percent from the field and 13 percent from the three-point line.
Turnovers plagued Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs committed 15 in the first half and 27 total for the game, the most turnovers State has committed this season. UGA capitalized with 24 points off those miscues.
Ahlana Smith led the offensive side of the ball for the Bulldogs, scoring nine points on the day.
JerKaila Jordan continued to crash the boards, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Last Meeting Between UT/MSU

Tennessee improved to 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play, taking an 80-69 win over Mississippi State in Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 5, 2023.
Senior guard Jordan Horston led UT (11-6, 3-0 SEC), setting new season highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds to post her fourth double-double of the 2022-23 campaign. She nearly carded a “D-D” in the fourth quarter alone, tallying 13 points and nine boards in the final frame.
Fellow senior Rickea Jackson also had a hot hand with 18 points on the night, while junior Tess Darby finished with 13 points on four made 3-pointers.
Jessika Carter and Debreasha Powe were the top scorers for MSU (12-4, 1-2 SEC) with 21 apiece.

Last Time We Played In Starkville

The Lady Vols scrapped to within three in the third quarter but couldn’t overcome a No. 6 Mississippi State team that shot an impressive 52.2 percent on the day, falling 91-63, in Starkville.
Tennessee (15-8, 4-6 SEC) was led by sophomore Rennia Davis, who fired in a season-high 29 points. Freshman Zaay Green also was in double figures with 13.
MSU’s (22-1, 10-0 SEC) high scorer was senior Teaira McCowan, who logged a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Seniors Jordan Danberry and Anriel Howard also had big days for MSU, finishing with 20 and 16 points, respectively. Howard added 11 rebounds to claim a double-double on the afternoon.

Upcoming Game

Tennessee finally has its open date Thursday before resuming SEC play at home vs. Vanderbilt on Feb. 12.
The Lady Vols and Commodores will meet in UT’s Play4Kay contest at 2 p.m. ET (SECN+).
The game features free admission for cancer survivors.
Those purchasing a pink shirt from Orange Mountain Design also may receive a free ticket to the game.
The Weekend Family 4 Pack Deal will also be in play, with four tickets & four $10 concession vouchers available starting at $72 (plus tax/fees).

-UT Athletics