Mississippi State women’s basketball team shines, beats Texas A&M 78-58

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State women’s basketball team put together a complete team effort on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum, dominating the Texas A&M Aggies 78-58.

For the second straight game, the Bulldogs leveraged hot shooting to build a comfortable lead and kept their opponent from closing the gap. The Bulldogs are now 13-7 (4-4 SEC), while the Aggies are 11-9 (1-7 SEC).

MSU edged out to a 17-12 advantage after one quarter, shooting 47% from the field, while Texas A&M shot just 33%. The Bulldogs blitzed the Aggies in the second quarter, shooting 9-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 in 3-pointers to take control of the game. The Bulldogs won the frame 24-11 and led 41-23 at halftime.

Texas A&M shot 55% in the third quarter to MSU’s 45%, and the Aggies managed to trim the Bulldog lead to 11 points midway through the period. Freshman forward Denae Carter was forced to leave the game with a knee injury, but the Bulldogs managed to steady the ship and maintain a 13-point lead after three quarters. MSU shot 57% in the fourth quarter to extend the lead further, and half of the eight buckets the Bulldogs made were 3-pointers. MSU closed out Texas A&M with a 78-58 victory.

Five Bulldogs scored in double digits, with senior guard Anastasia Hayes leading the team with 22 points and seven assists. Graduate guard Caterrion Thompson and junior guard Aislynn Hayes both scored in double digits and combined for 8-for-11 on 3-pointers. Sophomore guard JerKaila Jordan netted 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while senior guard Myah Taylor added 10 points, six assists and four steals.

Carter announced on Monday that she has an ACL tear and will be unable to play again this season. The loss of the two-time Southeastern Conference freshman of the week leaves the Bulldogs with just eight available roster players. Sophomore center Charlotte Kohl has averaged just seven minutes per game played, but will likely get the nod to start in Carter’s absence

Redshirt senior guard Anastasia Hayes was named the SEC player of the week for her stellar efforts over the past two games. She averaged 23 points over in those games, shooting 52% from the floor, 75% from 3-point range and 89% from the charity stripe.

Next up: The Bulldogs travel to the Plains to face the Auburn Tigers on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT for a game that will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Former MSU associate head coach Johnnie Harris is in her first season as head coach of the Auburn program.

The Tigers hold a 9-11 (1-8 SEC) record and are coming off an 81-66 loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday. Sophomore guard Aicha Coulibaly leads Texas A&M with 18.3 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. The Aggies lead the all-time series against the Bulldogs 35-25, but MSU has won the past nine matchups.