MSU women’s basketball cruises by Illinois to secure First Four win

South Bend, Ind. — Sam Purcell secured his first NCAA tournament as a head coach Wednesday night, leading Mississippi State to a 70-56 win over Illinois.

Jessika Carter was the first to score, establishing her clear size advantage from the jump. Although Illinois didn’t have the height to drive on Carter, its shooters were sharp from outside — knocking down nearly 50% of its field goal attempts in the first half.

The Bulldogs struggled with their touch around the rim and getting bunnies to go in. But they crashed their own boards hard, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds. 

Much like the Mississippi State men’s basketball game Tuesday night, both teams kept things tight. The Bulldogs went into the break with a 31-30 lead over the Fighting Illini. 

MSU was on fire coming out of the break, getting out to an 11-2 run through the first five minutes of the second half. The Illini didn’t have the size to keep the Bulldogs out of the lane as Sam Purcell’s squad capitalized by scoring 28 of its 39 second half points in the paint.

The defense stepped up big time for the Bulldogs in the third quarter as well. They held the Illini to just eight points in those 10 minutes to outscore them by 13 points. 

MSU headed into the fourth quarter up 14 points and kept Illinois an arm’s length away for the rest of the game. 

This win marks the program’s first NCAA tournament win since 2019. MSU will now advance to face Creighton in the round of 64 at 5 p.m. Friday on ESPNEWS.