MSU Women’s Basketball Team Is Headed To Durham, NC

STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State is headed back to the “Big Dance.”

A capacity crowd at the Dawg House Sports Grill celebrated with the Bulldogs as they earned a No. 5 seed in Durham, N.C.

State, who stayed at No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and 14th in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll, faces a familiar foe in Tulane in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener. Tip is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The winner of that contest will face either fourth-seeded Duke or 12th-seeded Albany (N.Y.).

Fans can go to here for information on purchasing tickets.

“This is a great night for our program and Mississippi State University. My staff and I thought we had a special team all along, and this kind of confirms those early beliefs,” head coach Vic Schaefer said. “That trip to Europe back in the summer was such an important piece to this puzzle.

“I’m really happy for our three seniors (Martha Alwal, Kendra Grant and Jerica James) that have been with us all three years, and for Savannah Carter our other senior. You have to give credit to our entire team for continuing to work and get better. Our freshmen have come in and injected a skill set and added some pop that we desperately needed. I’m really proud for my staff, our players and Mississippi State University. I really believe the best is yet to come.”

Fans can celebrate the selection Tuesday at a special Hail State Hoops Luncheon. The luncheon, which costs $12 per person, begins at 11:30 a.m. in Mize Pavilion. Fans can RSVP by calling (662) 325-0198 or emailing dbrown@athletics.msstate.edu.

Monday’s NCAA Tournament selection is the Bulldogs’ seventh overall and first since 2010. The fifth seed is State’s second-highest in school history.

MSU earned the selection after finishing the season with a 26-6 overall record and 11-5 SEC mark. The Bulldogs set program records for total and league wins.

State also tied for the best SEC finish in program history, ending the campaign third.

Friday’s game will be the second-straight year Mississippi State has met Tulane in the postseason. The Bulldogs defeated the Green Wave 77-68 in the opening round of the 2014 WNIT.

The Bulldogs and Blue Devils have met once, a game won 72-67 by Duke in New Orleans in 1995.

State and Albany have faced off twice. The Bulldogs won an 84-34 decision in Starkville in the 1999-2000 season and a 62-57 road contest the following year.