Miss. State Women's Basketball vs Samford

[jdelta02]

Game Thread

Starting 5
Favour Nwaedozi
Madison Francis
Jaylah Lampley
Chandler Prater
Destiney Mcphaul

2 freshmen in starting lineup

[jdelta02]

Halftime

Miss. State 51
Samford 26

Jaylah Lampley 14 pts
Madison Francis 14 pts
Favour Nwaedozi 13 pts

[CaptainObvious]

They got a Lot to work on with regards to perimeter defense. They will face SEC teams that shoot the 3 ball well but also play defense very well. Their rotation on defense doesn?t look good at all! Sanford has made at least 10 3 pointers!

[NCMSTFAN]

They got a Lot to work on with regards to perimeter defense. They will face SEC teams that shoot the 3 ball well but also play defense very well. Their rotation on defense doesn?t look good at all! Sanford has made at least 10 3 pointers!

Well we won 112-51 and kept Samford to 31% from the field and 28% from 3. We also had 25 assist to only 7 turnovers (which were a problem earlier in the season). While you are right, SEC play wont be as easy and perimeter defense will have to be better, Sam has a good team on campus that we should support more. Also to add a little more context to that, Samford took 40 three point shots to our 17 so they were throwing up alot of them and missing alot of them as well.

We had 3 girls with double doubles (2 of them true Freshman) and another with 10 assist.. this team is tough.

[captaindog]

We have several players playing some very focused basketball right now and playing to their strengths. Our starting five are all mentally showing a lot of strength. D McPhaul is leaning heavy on getting the assists. A few games ago Coach Purcell discussed how he told C Prater to cut down on the turnovers. Since that time there has been a noticeable decrease in turnovers and she has embraced a rebounding role. Very pleased to see S King back in the rotation. She is very steady guarding the basketball. My only concern is that she needs to watch allowing players to drive to her left.
We start SEC play Thursday with a winnable game but after that have five ranked teams. We need to at least go 7-9 for a solid NCAA Tournament resume. That is going to be a tall order.

[jdelta02]

- Favour Nwaedozi 30 points, 10 rebounds (double double)
- Jaylah Lampley 24 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block (double double)
- Madison Francis 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks (double double)
- Chandler Prater 10 points, 10 rebound. 3 steals, 1 block (double double)
- Destiney Mcphaul 10 assists (sat a good bit of first half with foul issues)

[NCMSTFAN]

We have several players playing some very focused basketball right now and playing to their strengths. Our starting five are all mentally showing a lot of strength. D McPhaul is leaning heavy on getting the assists. A few games ago Coach Purcell discussed how he told C Prater to cut down on the turnovers. Since that time there has been a noticeable decrease in turnovers and she has embraced a rebounding role. Very pleased to see S King back in the rotation. She is very steady guarding the basketball. My only concern is that she needs to watch allowing players to drive to her left.
We start SEC play Thursday with a winnable game but after that have five ranked teams. We need to at least go 7-9 for a solid NCAA Tournament resume. That is going to be a tall order.

Agreed, and I think we can get to 7-9 but you're right the SEC is so deep, every game will be tough.

[basedog]

I see nothing to complain about. 13-1 and we have shown improvement each week. Purcell has stepped up his game.

[Cowbell]

I'm about ready to do away with our men's team and give the money to Purcell for nil

[jdelta02]

Destiney Mcphaul 10 assists, 0 turnovers
(Note) This is her second straight game with 10 assists.

Also, Saniyah King came in and played well. Good to see her back on the court.

[99jc]

They got a Lot to work on with regards to perimeter defense. They will face SEC teams that shoot the 3 ball well but also play defense very well. Their rotation on defense doesn?t look good at all! Sanford has made at least 10 3 pointers!

you are an ass go check on your wife

[SailingDawg]

I went to look at the SEC ladies and everybody is 14-0 or 13-1, 13-2.

[CaptainObvious]

you are an ass go check on your wife

Lighten up Francine. They were playing Samford. Sure. They missed a bunch of open 3?s and only made 25% of the 40 they took. But 95% were wide open. Do you think Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, USC, Tennessee, A&M, Georgia, Vandy, and Ole Miss are going to let State rule the paint like that? Get out of here with that crap. Was it good to play another Non-Con game before Texas on Thursday? Absolutely. Does this performance have any effect on how Texas can be defended and how our offense will work against them. Absolutely NOT.

I certainly hope This team can go 7-9 or better in the SEC because as helter schelter as the Men?s team is I will be very surprised if they win 7 games! We are pretty much expecting the women to tote the torch in basketball! I hope they Do!

[NCMSTFAN]

I went to look at the SEC ladies and everybody is 14-0 or 13-1, 13-2.

Florida, Missouri, Auburn and Tennesse all have 3 losses, Arkansas has 4.

[NCMSTFAN]

Lighten up Francine. They were playing Samford. Sure. They missed a bunch of open 3?s and only made 25% of the 40 they took. But 95% were wide open. Do you think Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, USC, Tennessee, A&M, Georgia, Vandy, and Ole Miss are going to let State rule the paint like that? Get out of here with that crap. Was it good to play another Non-Con game before Texas on Thursday? Absolutely. Does this performance have any effect on how Texas can be defended and how our offense will work against them. Absolutely NOT.

I certainly hope This team can go 7-9 or better in the SEC because as helter schelter as the Men?s team is I will be very surprised if they win 7 games! We are pretty much expecting the women to tote the torch in basketball! I hope they Do!

Texas? We dont play them until February.. our 1st SEC game is against Auburn and I like our chances in that one.

[captaindog]

My apologies if this has been posted. While it honors what M Francis has been able to do, it also speaks to the overall strength of the SEC. Five of the top freshmen nationally play for the SEC, many on highly regarded teams with talented upperclassmen.
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/47336367/womens-college-basketball-freshman-impact-rankings-2025-2026

[ZedFedder]

Ever thought about the fact that we left them open on purpose?

[Pancho]

Ever thought about the fact that we left them open on purpose?

i doubt the thought has crossed his mind yet

[jdelta02]

Samford's guard Briana Rivera came into the game leading the nation/ #1 in NCAA D1 women's basketball.... in both 3 pointers made and 3 pointers attempted.
Also, Samford as a team came in #12 in the nation in 3 pointers attempted and #22 in the nation in 3 pointers made.

[NCMSTFAN]

My apologies if this has been posted. While it honors what M Francis has been able to do, it also speaks to the overall strength of the SEC. Five of the top freshmen nationally play for the SEC, many on highly regarded teams with talented upperclassmen.
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/47336367/womens-college-basketball-freshman-impact-rankings-2025-2026

I read this the other day.. Madison Francis will be a WNBA player one day, she's that special. And to be honest Jayla Lampley isnt that far away from her either, 1A and 1B... We have 2 of the best Freshman in the nation in those two on one team.

[StarkVegasSteve]

So jdelta and NCMST can answer this one a hell of a lot better than most, what does this start mean for the women's team? Is this as expected? Or better than expected?

And does this change your outlook on how you'd predict them to do in conference.

[captaindog]

So jdelta and NCMST can answer this one a hell of a lot better than most, what does this start mean for the women's team? Is this as expected? Or better than expected?

And does this change your outlook on how you'd predict them to do in conference.

I have maintained that my biggest concerns regarding this team are finding a primary ball handler (and some secondary ones) and lack of size in the frontcourt. I’m feeling better with the first concern especially with S King returning. Other than one mistake yesterday she maintained a steady pace for the offense and defensive sets. If she continues to develop it allows D McPhaul and T Crisp to concentrate on scoring.
As we enter conference play I am still very concerned regarding our lack of size in the frontcourt. K Richardson is our only post that plays good post defense. She works to deny entry passes and doesn’t allow position. As good as F Nwaedozi is using angles on offense I’m a little surprised she isn’t better on defense. M Francis is still too thin to be able to push bigger players out of position.
If we can earn a 7-9 conference record I’ll be happy as that should solidly get us in the NCAA Tournament.

[basedog]

Purcell just signed 6’1” guard from France. She has joined the team and is eligible now.

Purcell is working his tail off. Future is looking very good.

[NCMSTFAN]

So jdelta and NCMST can answer this one a hell of a lot better than most, what does this start mean for the women's team? Is this as expected? Or better than expected?

And does this change your outlook on how you'd predict them to do in conference.

To be honest, all of the above. What I mean is this was unexpected since there were so many unknowns. We lost Jerk, Okot, Powe, DeShields, Eniya Russel and Nir last season who all contributed heavily and had to replace all of that production. What Purcell did is recruited High School really well and also Internationally. No one knew who Favour Nwaedozi was just like last season no one knew who Madina Okot was and she currently starts at Center for South Carolina.... you gotta tip your hat to Sam, he is recruiting a little differently considering the times we are in and its working... heck he just picked a another International 6'1" player up today who is eligible right now!

My concerns are we haven't had the toughest non conference schedule even though it wasn't terribly bad. We also arent as big in the post this season but our length makes up for that so that doesnt concern me as much. We are a very long team. Overall, from a talent standpoint this is Purcells most talented team, I just hope we continue to click when SEC play begins because this group can be special.

[StarkVegasSteve]

To be honest, all of the above. What I mean is this was unexpected since there were so many unknowns. We lost Jerk, Okot, Powe, DeShields, Eniya Russel and Nir last season who all contributed heavily and had to replace all of that production. What Purcell did is recruited High School really well and also Internationally. No one knew who Favour Nwaedozi was just like last season no one knew who Madina Okot was and she currently starts at Center for South Carolina.... you gotta tip your hat to Sam, he is recruiting a little differently considering the times we are in and its working... heck he just picked a another International 6'1" player up today who is eligible right now!

My concerns are we haven't had the toughest non conference schedule even though it wasn't terribly bad. We also arent as big in the post this season but our length makes up for that so that doesnt concern me as much. We are a very long team. Overall, from a talent standpoint this is Purcells most talented team, I just hope we continue to click when SEC play begins because this group can be special.

Okot was the one that I knew would suck to lose, and looking at her stats at USCe I was correct.

[NCMSTFAN]

Okot was the one that I knew would suck to lose, and looking at her stats at USCe I was correct.

Okot was a huge loss, and what makes her loss hurt so bad is Sam and his staff did so much to help her get to the states and become eligible. She was a complete unknown. That said Favour Nwaedozi is filling those shoes quite well.

Okot stats this year:
15.8 ppg
11.2 rpg
1.5 blocks

Favour stats:
14.6 ppg
10.7 rpg
1 block per game

Okot has a couple of inches on Favour and is probably a little more polished since she has more experience but Favour has definitely held her own. Sam is doing a great job finding these players.

[jdelta02]

So jdelta and NCMST can answer this one a hell of a lot better than most, what does this start mean for the women's team? Is this as expected? Or better than expected?

And does this change your outlook on how you'd predict them to do in conference.

My opinion this is starting to come together as a really good team. Also, they let that Texas Tech get away from them earlier in the season., would be 14-0.. Also, this team has gotten way better since losing that game. Appears the co.aching staff has been doing a very good job of developing the players and making adjustments as the season has progressed. I've always felt positive about the potential of this team,...nothing has changed.

[viverlibre]

Prior to this thread, I thought Samford had gone out of business.

[basedog]

My opinion this is starting to come together as a really good team. Also, they let that Texas Tech get away from them earlier in the season., would be 14-0.. Also, this team has gotten way better since losing that game. Appears the co.aching staff has been doing a very good job of developing the players and making adjustments as the season has progressed. I've always felt positive about the potential of this team,...nothing has changed.

Keep it up jdelta, you provide good info. I like what Purcell has done in building this program.

[jdelta02]

Miss. State women's basketball team has added a mid-season (in-season) transfer from France. 6-1 guard Melissa Guillet has officially signed and is expected to join the team in January for the remainder of the season.

Guillet...
- Played last 2 season's for Basket Club La Tronche Meylon
- France 2022 Under 16 FIBA Team
- France 2024 uUnder 18 FIBA Team

[jdelta02]

Favour Nwaedozi- SEC Player Of The Week
Jaylah Lampley- SEC Freshman Of The Week

Miss. State women with the SEC sweep.

[EdwardDrayton]

Prior to this thread, I thought Samford had gone out of business.

You're probably thinking Birmingham Southern.