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‘She’s dialed in’: Mississippi State’s Montague coming off strong outing in Baton Rouge

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11 months ago

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‘She’s dialed in’: Mississippi State’s Montague coming off strong outing in Baton Rouge


STARKVILLE — Quanirah Montague played just one minute and 19 seconds in Mississippi State’s loss at Missouri on Jan. 27 and did not register any statistics, with head coach Sam Purcell giving Kayla Thomas more playing time in the post as Madina Okot’s backup.

That came four days after Montague did not check in until there were four minutes left in the first half against Auburn, while Thomas entered the game after just 10 seconds when Okot had a brief injury scare.

But on the road against a top-10 LSU team on Sunday, Montague was on the floor for 17 minutes, her most playing time in a month. She and the Bulldogs’ second unit helped spark a big MSU run in the second quarter that had the Tigers sweating going into halftime.

“I’m really proud of (Montague) right now. She’s dialed in,” Purcell said Wednesday. “I actually talked to her mom the other day just about how hard she’s working behind the scenes.”

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Montague entered the game with the Bulldogs trailing 11-3 after less than five minutes, then made her biggest impact over the last five minutes of the first half. She traveled twice during that stretch but made her first five field goal attempts of the game and also blocked a layup from Aalyah Del Rosario.

Two of her layups in the second quarter came off steals, and just before the buzzer, she rebounded Chandler Prater’s missed layup and tipped the ball back up and in, trimming what had once been an 18-point MSU deficit to six.

A former four-star recruit, Montague was a top-50 national prospect, the third-best player in New Jersey and the No. 6 post player in the country according to ESPN. She played behind Jessika Carter and Erynn Barnum as a freshman, and now Okot has swooped in as the starting center. But with 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals in less than half the game Sunday, Montague is making her case for more time on the court.

“Success comes when you put in the work and you’re truly dialed in,” Purcell said. “She’s been coming in, doing extra workouts, and she just has the look where she knows she can help contribute to this team. It’s coming on at the right time. Just really excited about where she’s at right now and how hungry she’s playing.”

 

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Scouting Arkansas

The Bulldogs (16-7, 3-6 Southeastern Conference) have twice bounced back with wins after losing two games in a row this year, and they will need to do it again tonight at Humphrey Coliseum against the Razorbacks (9-15, 2-7). Arkansas is the lowest-ranked SEC team in the NET at No. 132, but the Razorbacks do have the conference’s leading scorer in Izzy Higginbottom, who is fifth in the country with 24.3 points per game.

One superstar does not a great team make, however, and Monday night was a perfect example. Higginbottom scored 40 points but could not prevent Arkansas from losing 108-78 at home to Florida. The Razorbacks have by far the SEC’s worst scoring defense, and — critical from an MSU perspective — they force the fewest turnovers per game in the conference. The Bulldogs will not find a more favorable matchup the rest of the year than this one.

“(Higginbottom) has the green light the entire game. The ball is in her hands, the offense is based for her,” Purcell said. “When she’s not getting major attempts, she’s able to find a way to get free ones at the line. When you have a scoring mentality like she does, the next thing you know she can sneak up and put (up) 40 points.”

Arkansas was without its next two leading scorers, Kiki Smith and Carly Keats, against Florida, and Purcell said he expects both to be back for Thursday’s game. But even at full strength, the Razorbacks have losses to five mid- and low-major teams and have allowed at least 100 points twice.

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“We’re going to have our hands full. If (Higginbottom) scores 40, we have to make sure everybody else doesn’t go off,” Purcell said. “We have to be ready for a new-look Arkansas and a team that’s hungry to come off a loss.”

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Mississippi

No. 15 Arkansas uses balanced scoring to beat Mississippi 94-87 in SEC matchup

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7 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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No. 15 Arkansas uses balanced scoring to beat Mississippi 94-87 in SEC matchup


OXFORD, Miss. — Darius Acuff, Jr. had 26 points and nine assists, and No. 15 Arkansas got double-figure scoring from five players in a 94-87 win over Mississippi on Wednesday night.

Arkansas (12-3, 2-0 SEC) used a decisive 14-6 run midway through the second half to build an insurmountable 76-61 lead. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss (8-7, 0-2).

The Rebels pulled within 91-87 in the final minute, but Acuff converted a short jumper and Trevon Brazile added a free throw to help seal the win. Arkansas finished 22 of 30 (73%) from the free throw line, including 11 of 12 by Acuff.

Brazile scored 18 points, Billy Richmond III and Meleek Thomas added 13 points apiece, and Karter Knox scored 10 in the balanced Arkansas performance.

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Ole Miss was led by Ilias Kamardine and Malik Dia with 16 points apiece. AJ Storr scored 12 points, Eduardo Klafke had 11 in the second half and Patton Pinkins added 10.

Arkansas used a 10-2 surge in the final two minutes of the first half for a 42-32 lead at the break. Brazile and Thomas had 10 points apiece in the first half, as the Razorbacks never trailed after the opening five minutes.

The Arkansas win is a sharp contrast to last season when John Calipari’s club started 0-5 in SEC play. The Razorbacks rallied to finish 7-3 with a berth in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) steps back to take a shot at the basket while guarded by Mississippi guard Travis Perry (11) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Oxford, Miss. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis

Ole Miss, after a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament, has struggled to replace four starters and three other significant contributors from last season’s nine-player rotation.

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Arkansas: Completes a two-game trip at Auburn on Saturday.

Ole Miss: Hosts Missouri on Saturday.



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Vote: Who is the Mississippi High School Football Quarterback of the Year?

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19 hours ago

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January 7, 2026

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Vote: Who is the Mississippi High School Football Quarterback of the Year?


Today, we take a look at some of the best signal callers in the state of Mississippi from the 2025 season.

This season was one to remember in the state of Mississippi, and part of that is due to the terrific play from the quarterback position. Our nominees include a mixture of gunslingers and dual-threat quarterbacks who put on a show every single week, and because of that each nominee is worthy of a vote.

However, we will leave that up to you, the fan, to decide who is the High School on SI Mississippi high school quarterback of the year for 2025.

Voting will close on January 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

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Here are the nominations:

Chancelor comes in as our first nominee as he led the Magnolia State in passing yards this season. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,419 yards and 28 touchdowns. Chancelor also added two more scores on the ground.

This season, Mayes completed nearly 67 percent of his passes for 2,934 yards and 40 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. He also showed that he was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state this season. He rushed for 1,195 yards and 17 touchdowns on 122 carries.

Craft led the Oilers to an appearance to the Class 2A state championship after a terrific season as the signal-caller. He completed nearly 72 percent of his passes for 2,912 yards and 35 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Like Mayes, Craft was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state this season. He rushed for 1,027 yards and 17 touchdowns on 117 carries.

Stockett completed nearly 66 percent of his passes this season for 2,905 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also rushed for one touchdown.

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Wilcox was another outstanding quarterback from the MAIS this season. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 2,868 yards and 34 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also rushed for 272 yards and eight touchdowns on 72 carries

Stringer completed just shy of 61 percent of his passes this season for 2,783 yards and 37 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He added 144 yards on the ground with two touchdowns.

As the leader on the offense, and one of the leaders on the entire team, Nettles was outstanding all season long as he helped led the Admirals to the Class 7A state championship. He finished 2025 with a 66 percent completion percentage and 2,750 yards with 23 touchdowns. He added two more scores on the ground.

This season, Shettles completed nearly 62 percent of his passes for 2,730 yards and 28 touchdowns with only one interception. He also rushed for 325 yards and nine touchdowns on 67 carries.

Hall took the momentum he had from his sophomore season and carried it over to this season. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,709 yards and 34 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He added 189 more yards on the ground with one touchdown.

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Trivillion helped led the Pirates to 11 wins this season which is a school record thanks in part to his play from the quarterback position. He completed nearly 53 percent of his passes for 2,570 yards and 34 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Trivillion also rushed for 1,120 yards and 15 touchdowns on 105 carries this season.

This season, Ducksworth completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,581 yards with 27 touchdowns to only five interceptions.

Davis was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state this season. He completed nearly 64 percent of his passes for 2,547 yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 650 yards and seven touchdowns on 96 carries.

Edwards showed that he was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the state this season with a 73 percent completion percentage. On top of completing nearly three-fourths of his passes, he passed for 2,534 yards with 20 touchdowns and just one interceptions. He also added 170 yards on the ground with three touchdowns.

Johnson completed over 50 percent of his passes for 2,510 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 488 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries.

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Wade is our final quarterback of the year nominee for the 2025 season in the state of Mississippi. He completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,402 yards and 22 touchdowns with three interceptions. Wade also rushed for 407 yards and 12 touchdowns on 107 carries.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.



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Miami Hurricanes have two Mississippi connections – and one is quite large

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1 day ago

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January 7, 2026

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Miami Hurricanes have two Mississippi connections – and one is quite large


The Miami Hurricanes, who play the Ole Miss Rebels in Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl, have two Mississippi connections. One is left tackle Markel Bell, a former standout at Holmes Community College. The other is offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who previously worked at Millsaps College and Southern Miss.



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