STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State women’s basketball team will hit the road for its last Thursday road game of the season. The Bulldogs will travel to Columbia, Mo. to take on Mizzou on Thursday with tip-off set for 7 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Mississippi State (18-7, 7-5 SEC) at Missouri (15-10, 4-8 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 // Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Columbia, Mo. (Mizzou Arena)
Watch: SEC Network+ (Talent: Noah Reed & Jordan Roundtree)
Listen: MSU Radio Network (Play-By-Play: Jason Crowder)

Numbers To Know
6th • The Bulldogs enter the week sixth in the SEC standings. MSU has a one game lead over Arkansas (6-6) and Georgia (6-6) while trailing Alabama by one game (8-4). There are just two games separating fourth from eight in the standings.
35 • Mississippi State has recorded at least one blocked shot in 35 straight games. Their last game without a blocked shot was against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2022.
54 • Jessika Carter is second in the SEC in blocked shots (55) and blocks per game (2.2). She is one of three players in the SEC with 50+ blocked shots. Carter is six blocked shots shy of setting a new career high. She had 60 during the 2019-20 season.
7 • Head Coach Sam Purcell picked up win No. 18 in his career and his seventh SEC win last week. When Coach Purcell earned SEC win No. 7, he broke a tie with Vic Schafer for the most SEC wins in a head coaches first year at MSU.

Series History
• Mississippi State leads the all-time series 10-4.
• The Bulldogs hold a 4-2 record against the Tigers when the game has been played at Missouri.
• Last season the two programs split the two games they played. MSU defeated Missouri 77-62 in the first meeting in Starkville, while the Tigers won the second meeting in Columbia, 76-66.

Hayes Near Top of SEC Assist Totals
• Iowa’s Caitlin Clark joined Anastasia Hayes as the only two active players with 2,000+ career points, 500+ rebounds and 400+ assists.
• Anastasia Hayes ranks 2nd in the SEC in total assists (109) and 2nd assists per game (4.5).

Most Wins By A First Year Head Coach at MSU
• Head Coach Sam Purcell is the winningest head coach in their debut season at Mississippi State. He earned that distinction when he earned his 16th win of the season. He also has the most SEC wins by an MSU head coach in their first season. Previous high was five SEC wins by Vic Schafer.
• Coach Purcell has the most one-point wins by an MSU head coach in their debut season with the program. He is also 3-1 in games decided by 5 points or less.
• Coach Purcell’s 18 wins on the year are the most wins so far by all rookie head coaches at the Division 1 level. Following closely behind is Heather Ezell (17) from Wyoming, Candice Green (16) of Fordham and Shawn Poppie (15) of Chattanooga.

Rim Protector
• Jessika Carter ranks 2nd in the SEC in blocked shots (55) and blocks per game (2.2).
• Jessika ranks 15th in the NCAA in blocked shots and 17th in blocks per game.
• She is six blocked shots shy of setting a new career high. She had 60 during the 2019-20 season.
• In her career, she has 174 blocked shots. She is seven shy of cracking the top 3 for career blocks at MSU.
• Jessika is two blocked shots shy of tying Teaira McCowan (57, 2016-17) for 10th on the single season blocks list at MSU. Carter’s 60 blocks during the 2019-20 season ranks ninth on the single-season list.
• She has recorded 128 defensive rebounds this season and is averaging 5.1 per game, the best mark on the team.
• Carter has also recorded 18 steals and 34 assists on the year. Her 34 assists are more than double her previous career high of 16 sets during the 2020-21 season.

Mississippi State Notables
• The Bulldogs dished out 14 assists in Sunday’s win over Texas A&M. It was their 24th game of the season with double-digit assists.
• Mississippi State has recorded at least one blocked shot in 35 straight games. Their last game without a blocked shot was against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2022.
• MSU played in its first double-overtime game since 2015 vs Tennessee. It was also the team’s first double-OT win since 2014 against Southern Miss on March 24.
• Against Texas A&M on Sunday, the Bulldogs were 18-for-23 from the foul line in the second half and 14-for-16 in the fourth quarter. MSU made their last 5 free throws and 10 of their last 11 in the 4th.
• Ahlana Smith has made 7 straight free throws since UGA

Get-To-Know Mizzou
• Missouri enters Thursday on a two-game losing streak after dropping games against Alabama and at Arkansas last week.
• This season they have a 9-5 record at home but have lost 3 of their last four home games.
• The Tigers are coached by Robin Pingeton, and she is in her 13^th year with the program.
• Hayley Frank is leading the way for Missouri. This season she is averaging 15.3 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per contest. Frank also has 35 assists, 25 steals and 17 blocked shots.

Up Next
Mississippi State is back home on Sunday when they host Alabama. The Bulldogs will be honoring five seniors before the contest against the Crimson Tide. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women’s basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for “HailStateWBK.”