Despite skeleton squad, MSU secures victory against Vanderbilt
STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Playing with just seven players on Sunday, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team beat all odds to defeat a full Vanderbilt squad 70-63, improving to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in the SEC.
For the second-straight game, the Bulldogs played shorthanded, this time playing with the minimum scholarship players allowed per rules. Anastasia Hayes has played all 80 minutes of the last two games, Myah Taylor has played 76, Denae Carter has played 69 and JerKaila Jordan 67 minutes.
Anastasia Hayes led the Bulldogs offensively, setting a new season-high in scoring with 31 points on 55% shooting. Hayes scored 16 of her 31 in the second half. Hayes also took advantage of her opportunities at the charity stripe, converting all seven of her free-throw attempts. She also added two 3-pointers, three rebounds and an assist to her totals. Aislynn Hayes chipped in with nine points, all on clutch 3-pointers and a season-high six rebounds.
The Bulldogs’ leading rebounder and shot blocker was Denae Carter, finishing with seven rebounds and two blocks. This was Carter’s sixth straight game leading State in rebounds and fourth straight game leading in blocked shots. Following Carter’s first career foul out, sophomore Charlotte Kohl was asked to play a significant role late in the contest as she held her own over the final few minutes of the game.
Myah Taylor continues to be the heart and soul of this Bulldogs team. Despite getting into early foul trouble, three fouls in the first half, she stayed aggressive with three steals while leading the team with six assists and adding six points. After a quiet two-point first-half for JerKaila Jordan, the sophomore from New Orleans erupted for nine key points in the second. She ended the night with 11 points and five rebounds.
Caterrion Thompson hit big shot after big shot on Sunday, but none bigger than her fourth-quarter triple with the Dawgs trailing by three. Her three-pointer that tied the game at 52 sparked a 14-0 run to give MSU an 11-point lead with under four minutes to play.
Vanderbilt didn’t go away late, using their own 6-0 run to make it a five-point game with just two minutes to play. But back-to-back buckets from Jordan and Thompson were enough to put the game out of reach late as State held on for a crucial 70-63 victory.
Quoting Coach Novak
On Thompson’s clutch fourth-quarter three-pointer
“I do, and I think our defense was, I think her leadership was, and I think her enthusiasm in practice was. Again, hats off to Annie. Hats off to Myah. They were spectacular. [Caterrion] Thompson has been in that gym for weeks upon weeks working on her shot; it just hasn’t quite gone in yet. But it did tonight, and it was no accident. We had a little talk two days ago. She was shooting, she missed, and then she changed her shot a little bit. I said, ‘Don’t change it. That was a winning shot. Shoot the same shot over and over and over’. Just because you miss doesn’t mean something was wrong. She held her follow-through, she stuck her landing and I was so proud. You want people who work like that to be rewarded. Life doesn’t always work that way, but you want that. You seek that. To see her, in primetime, hit those big shots, then go down on the defensive end and put her body in front of 15, who I think is spectacular, Alexander, and just did a nice job playing hard-nosed defense.
Quoting Myah Taylor
On the home crowd
“It’s just a special place at the Hump. I think that having [the fans] today, they really just light up the Hump. Every home game, we’re going to need them there, and I just know that we’re going to keep playing hard for them. They like to see that and once we play hard, they feed into it. Shout out to the fans today, they really came through.”
Quoting Anastasia Hayes
On the team’s confidence
“Yes, and I can feel the energy from everyone and the staff. We’ve come out every day, we’ve been practicing a lot harder, we’ve been buying in. I can tell that we’re up for any challenge. We’re ready. We buy into all our coaches, and we buy into the scouts. We’re up for any challenge. I feel like no one can stop us if we’re all working together, bought in and playing together as one.”
Up Next
Mississippi State will be back on the road for two games next week. State will travel to Kentucky on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. to make up the contest that was previously scheduled for Jan. 3. On Saturday, Mississippi State and Ole Miss will renew their in-state rivalry in Oxford with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. That game will be on SEC Network.
