Tonight the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs (1-0) will attempt to continue their early-season success as they face the Lady Lions of Southeastern Louisiana (1-1) at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off of a 74-43 win against the Troy Trojans last Friday, during which head coach Sharon Fanning collected her 500th win and snapped a 13-game losing streak at the same time.
The Lady Lions evened up their record with a 67-49 win over the University of Central Florida, after a season-opening loss to fellow Southeastern Conference program Mississippi.
MSU’s junior forward Imeshia Jackson led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points and eight rebounds in the season opener.
Sophomore Heather Hollis added 15 points, two rebounds and a steal in the winning effort.
Twelve of those points came from a career-high four 3-pointers.
Another Lady Bulldog to watch in this matchup is freshman Bethany Washington, who put up nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in 27 minutes against Troy.
This is not the first time the two schools have met on the court.
MSU holds a 4-3 advantage over SLU in the series with a 4-1 margin over the Lady Lions in Starkville.
The last time the schools played was 2005.
The Bulldogs hammered the Lions in a 71-55 decision.
The Lions are a veteran squad returning 10 players and eight of their leading scorers from last year’s team that finished fourth in the Southland Conference.
The 2006-2007 Lady Lions are picked to win their division and are led by first-team All-Southland Conference starting forward Benita Williams.
Williams averaged 11 points and seven rebounds last season.
Williams’ rebound numbers are at nine per game so far this season.
Four Bulldogs-freshmen Alexis Rack, Bethany Washington, Tysheka Grimes and senior Natasha Hendeson-all come from Louisiana.
Fanning has invited Starkville’s Ward-Stewart Elementary principal Denise Rowan as guest coach for tonight’s game.
The guest coach program is an honor that allows the participant to witness first hand what it is like to be a Division I women’s basketball coach.
MSU President Robert “Doc” Foglesong served in the guest role for the Troy game.
Admission will be free of charge to fans that show their game ticket for Saturday’s MSU-Arkansas matchup
Admission is also free for MSU students who show their student ID.