After a busy month of January in which the team hit the court nine times, Auburn women’s basketball (9-11, 1-8 SEC) looks to rebound from a disappointing loss to Vanderbilt on the road in a matchup with Mississippi State (13-7, 4-4 SEC) on Thursday.
The Tigers had a roller coaster of a week last week. They went 1-2 in three contests, but the third was their first conference win of the season under first-year head coach Johnnie Harris. They triumphed over the No. 4-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols in a dominating fourth-quarter effort that left Auburn 10-point favorites in Auburn Arena.
Riding high after a historic victory over Tennessee, Auburn started out flat against unranked Vanderbilt on Sunday in Nashville and could not recover. It opened the game with only nine points in the first quarter, opposed to Vanderbilt’s 22. The Commodores outscored the Tigers again in the second frame, 24-12.
Despite a strong second-half effort and a 21-point game from Aicha Coulibaly, Auburn dug itself an unsurmountable hole in the first half, and it fell 81-66.
Both times the Tigers have earned victories over ranked opponents this season, they have lost the next game. Back in November, Auburn followed its win over then-No. 18 Georgia Tech with a loss to Little Rock.
Led by Coulibaly, the fourth-leading scorer in the SEC with 18.3 points per contest, Auburn hopes to get back on track in this game and mount its 10th win of the campaign, doubling the team's win total last season.
On the other side of the matchup, Mississippi State has won its past two contests. Most recently, a 78-58 victory over Texas A&M on Sunday.
In the game, the team’s leading scorer took control. Senior guard Anastasia Hayes, who is fifth overall in the SEC with 18.3 points a game, mustered 22 points and seven assists against the Aggies.
Hayes was forced to take the reigns for the Bulldogs when the team’s former leading scorer, Rickea Jackson, announced her decision to transfer from the program on Monday for “mental health reasons,” her mother said in a text message to the Clarion Ledger.
The forward was second in the conference through 15 games this season, averaging 20.3 points a game. She brought a significant presence to the Bulldogs inside, as she also brought in 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Thus far, the team has fared well without Jackson. It has won both of its matchups without her, including wins over Missouri last Thursday and Texas A&M on Sunday.
The conference leader in assists and runner-up in steals also belongs to Mississippi State in guard Myah Taylor. She records an average of 5.7 assists per game and 3.1 steals a game.
The Bulldogs are 2-5 away from Starkville this season, with their only road wins coming against UT-Martin and Alabama.
The two teams match up evenly on paper. Auburn scores 64.5 points a contest, and Mississippi State allows 64.4 a game. Auburn holds a 7-1 record when surpassing the 64-point mark this season.
Mississippi State puts up 72.1 points per game, which is almost 10 points higher than the 62.1 Auburn surrenders a game.
This matchup features two teams that like to score inside, as both teams rank in the bottom three in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage. Although, Mississippi State attempts the fourth-most threes in the conference.
Recently, Caterrion Thompson has caught fire from beyond the arc for the Bulldogs, as she has been promoted to a starting role following Jackson’s departure. The senior has thrived in the starting five, going 14-for-22 on 3-pointers in her previous three games. She has amassed 50 points combined in those games.
The loss of Jackson, who is 6-foot-2, might lead to an increased threat from the perimeter for the Bulldogs.
The SEC West matchup between the Tigers and Bulldogs tips off at 7 p.m. CST on Thursday in Auburn Arena. The game can be viewed on SEC Network+ and heard on Auburn Sports Network.
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