Mississippi
Recurring issue prevents Mississippi State women's basketball from reaching potential
Mississippi State women’s basketball is in the midst of a perfectly respectable season. The Bulldogs have won 15 games with a few nice victories on the resume and haven’t taken a bad loss. If they continue on their current trajectory, they’ll likely return to the NCAA Tournament.
But Bulldog fans want more out of this program, and there’s one big problem that’s preventing MSU from breaking through into the SEC’s upper-echelon. There’s been a consistent culprit for the Bulldogs’ losses, and its an issue that’s persisted for a while.
Mississippi State women’s basketball has a turnover problem and has for a long time
The biggest flaw by far for Mississippi State women’s basketball has been their knack for turning the ball over. The Bulldogs are committing an ugly 16.5 turnovers per game. That ranks 180th nationally and 12th in the SEC.
That number jumps up to 18 per game in their five losses to this point, and in only one of those losses did turnovers not play a significant role in the final. Against Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Ole Miss, State allowed an average of 23 points off turnovers. They lost those four games by an average of about 12.8 points (South Carolina’s 27-point win skews things a bit).
In the case of the Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and Ole Miss losses, MSU otherwise played well enough to win. If they were simply taking better care of the basketball, we could be having very different conversations about this team right now.
But this problem isn’t new. Turnovers were devastating for State last season as well. During last year’s late-season losing five game losing skid that ultimately kept the Bulldogs out of the tournament, State committed 18.2 turnovers per game and allowed an average of 19.6 points off those turnovers.
In fact, turnovers were a regular issue for Sam Purcell’s first team as well (15.9 per game). Now of course it’s not like the turnovers entirely go away in their wins. They’re still turnover prone in those games too. In fact they’ve managed some impressive wins over the last few years will committing ungodly amounts of turnovers. And that’s because they do a good job of turning over the opposition as well. They still have a positive turnover margin on the season, though several non-conference blowouts are aiding that significantly.
The problem is that when they run into better competition or if they aren’t forcing their opponents into a ton of mistakes themselves, their turnovers consistently prove to be costly. They are frequently the deciding factor in games.
As noted, this has been a recurring theme during Sam Purcell’s tenure, and what makes it more concerning is that the issue has existed with three different rosters. Purcell has seen major roster turnover during his three years, but despite changing personnel, the same issue comes up.
That’s a crystal clear sign that the turnover bug that’s infected Mississippi State women’s basketball falls back on coaching. There’s either something Purcell is coaching that’s leading to turnovers or whatever messaging he has to address that issue has failed to get through to his team. Either way, that’s a big problem.
Sam Purcell has brought great talent to Starkville. He’s brought in enough to build a high-level team, and this roster has enough to be a winner in the SEC. But now he’s got to get that talent executing on the court and taking care of the basketball. Otherwise, you’re going to see another average season out of the Bulldogs.
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
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