After a rough start to the conference season, the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs will look for a turnaround when they take on Auburn on the road on Sunday. Last season the Lady Tigers defeated the Lady Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum by six points. Lady Bulldogs head coach Sharon Fanning said Auburn will be a tough opponent due to their aggressive playing style.
“Auburn is a very athletic team that pushes the ball in transition and gets the ball to the rim,” she said. “They have great balance, and they rebound strong.”
Junior guard Whitney Boddie will be an offensive force for the Lady Tigers. As a sophomore, she led Auburn in assists with a 4.8 average. Boddie has assisted on at least one play in all 59 games in her career and dished out a career-best 12 assists against Alabama. This marked the first time since 1991 that an Auburn player had 12 assists in a single game.
Boddie returned to the starting lineup at Florida and netted a career-high 21 points, with 11 of those coming from the free throw line. She followed that performance up with a career-best 11 rebounds against Jacksonville State.
Senior guard Tamela McCorvey will also be a player the Lady Bulldogs will have their eyes on.
Last season she had 103 assists, seventh all-time among Lady Tigers juniors.
McCorvey led the team with 14 points against Ole Miss while also tying a season-best four 3-pointers made.
Some of the Lady Bulldogs are looking at this game as a chance to redeem themselves.
“We are 1-3 in the SEC, so we need more wins to get on track and get back on top,” Mary Katherine Govero said.
A victory over the Lady Tigers would not only be a confidence-booster for this season.
“This is a chance for us to redeem ourselves because they beat us last season,” Imeshia Jackson said.