No Mississippi State women’s basketball coach has won more games than Sam Purcell through three seasons in program history. He holds a 67-35 record with the Bulldogs and has guided them to two NCAA tournament second-round games.
Yet as MSU’s season opener nears against Davidson on Nov. 3 (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+) it still isn’t regarded as one of the top teams in the SEC. Mississippi State was picked No. 11 out of 16 in USA TODAY’s SEC predicted order of finish. The conference’s version of the poll has Mississippi State No. 10 — where it finished last season with a 7-9 SEC record.
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Purcell is embracing it.
“Nobody’s talking about us and no one is considering us,” he said at SEC media day on Oct. 15 in Birmingham, Alabama. “They did it last year and do it again because when you do that, all you do is fuel fire for my team. Most importantly, you give us a chip, and that’s the best thing a head coach can ask for.”
Mississippi State’s roster has nine new players
Only three players return from last season’s team that beat Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Southern Cal in the second round.
Leading scorers Jerkaila Jordan and Eniya Russell exhausted their eligibility, while three other starters, Madina Okot, Debreasha Powe and Denim DeShields, all transferred to other SEC teams.
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That leaves nine newcomers on this season’s team: four transfers, three freshmen, a former junior college player and an international player. Last season’s team had a larger roster with 10 newcomers, but also four returners.
“You can have returned experience, but you know what returned experience sometimes does for you? You get bleh,” Purcell said. “You get stagnant, right? Because you just think what happened last year is going to happen again. I absolutely love the challenge that is ahead of me getting an entire new roster that every day we show up in practice and it means something.”
Guard/forward Chandler Prater is back after starting 12 games and appearing in 34 and averaging 6.4 points per game. So is guard Destiney McPhaul, who averaged 8.1 points as the backup point guard and has switched positions to shooting guard and small forward. Sophomore center Rocío Jiménez returns, too, but she has played zero games in the last two seasons.
Mississippi State will rely on top transfers Saniyah King, Trayanna Crisp and Kharyssa Richardson.
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The Bulldogs have also spoken highly of forward Favour Nwaedozi, a Nigerian who played the last two seasons in Japan.
“There’s an energy that our fan base, and most importantly our opponents, are really going to learn very quickly that she’s got a high motor and is high energy,” Purcell said. “She is special.”
MSU’s freshman class consists of three top-100 recruits — Jaylah Lampley, Madison Francis and Nataliyah Gray — and was ranked No. 11 nationally by ESPN.
MORE: Chris Jans reveals Mississippi State recruiting ‘hidden trick’ that didn’t fool Josh Hubbard
Francis, a 6-foot-2 forward ranked No. 38 by ESPN, has gotten the most buzz after she dunked during a high school game.
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“In my three years here, she probably has more blocked shots in her 12 weeks in being on campus than I had an entire three years from my entire team,” Purcell said.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State women’s basketball, Sam Purcell embrace SEC doubters
