Mississippi
‘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.”
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.”
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.
“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
Chris Jans explains Mississippi State’s poor play to end loss vs Missouri in SEC tournament
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jacob Crews nailed a contested 3-pointer in the face of Mississippi State basketball’s Cameron Matthews. The Missouri forward gave Matthews a quick stare down as he jogged back down the court.
Ten seconds later, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard drilled a 3-pointer while drawing a foul on Crews. The four-point play gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead with 4:52 remaining in Thursday’s SEC tournament second-round game at Bridgestone Arena.
But that was the last field goal No. 10 seed MSU made in almost four and a half minutes. There were 17 ties and nine lead changes in the game, but MSU (21-12) never led again after Hubbard’s free throw. Mississippi State’s offense spiraled in the final minutes in the 85-73 loss to No. 7 Missouri (22-10).
“Would definitely like to have those last four minutes back,” MSU third-year coach Chris Jans said. “Obviously, it doesn’t work that way. It was winning time, and we didn’t play well in winning time. That’s the bottom line, is they played better than we did.”
What Chris Jans said went wrong for Mississippi State’s offense
The Bulldogs, who are still expected to make the NCAA tournament, only committed one turnover late in the second half, but they missed seven straight shots after Hubbard’s go-ahead free throw.
The Tigers produced a 14-3 run to jump ahead 81-71 with 31 seconds remaining.
The only MSU points came from RJ Melendez and KeShawn Murphy free throws.
“It’s one of those games where there’s so many pivotal plays,” Jans said. “I’m looking forward, I guess in a weird way, to watch the last five minutes to lock into it a little bit better. I remember we had it at the rim a couple times and weren’t able to finish it. I thought we had at least one or two pretty good looks at 3 when we were up, and could have gotten it to five I think and had some momentum.”
Josh Hubbard said Mississippi State defense could’ve been better too
Missouri scored 18 points in the final 4:52 of the game. It shot 9-of-11 from the free-throw line in that stretch. The three field goals were all layups or dunks.
“It was just a bad stretch for us and a good stretch for them,” Hubbard, who scored 24 points, said. “They just executed good offensively. They got us on the back door one time with Caleb Grill. We just had some defensive errors.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Hernando guard Fran Kelly has been named the Gatorade Mississippi girls basketball player of the year for the 2024-25 season.
Kelly is the winner of the girls basketball award from Hernando.
The 5-foot-10 junior led the Lady Tigers to a 22-7 record and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the MHSAA Class 7A state playoffs. She averaged 26 points, 4.3 steals, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Kelly won 7A-Region 1 player of the year, was named MHSAA 7A Miss Basketball and was a 2024-25 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen selection.
“She is a phenomenal athlete and basketball player,” Lafayette coach Shayne Linzy said in a news release. “She not only displays a high IQ for the game, but she has the ability to make plays all over the court. With all that ability, she still gets her teammates involved as much as possible.”
She has offers from Clemson, Louisiana Lafayette, Southeast Missouri State, Austin Peay, Mercer and Southern Miss.
Kelly joins recent Gatorade Mississippi girls basketball winners Macie Phifer (2023-24, Ingomar), Madison Booker (2020-23, Germantown) and Debreasha Powe (2021-22, Meridian).
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
Mississippi
Mississippi State basketball’s Shawn Jones reveals favorite player. His name is Josh Hubbard
NASHVILLE — Star Mississippi State basketball guard Josh Hubbard has plenty of fans. Some of them are in his own locker room.
The No. 10-seeded Bulldogs dominated No. 15 seed LSU 91-62 on Wednesday in the first round of the SEC tournament. Hubbard, a sophomore, scored 26 points in the blowout and shot 6-for-12 on 3-pointers.
It was enough to impress MSU junior guard Shawn Jones, who scored nine points for the Bulldogs (21-11).
“That’s my favorite player,” Jones said. “I see the work (Hubbard) puts in. Everything he does. He’s a great person. A man of God. It’s just different. He makes a way for us.”
What Shawn Jones said about Josh Hubbard after SEC Tournament win vs. LSU
Josh Hubbard is Mississippi State guard Shawn Jones’ favorite player
Junior Mississippi State basketball guard Shawn Jones had high praise for his star teammate Josh Hubbard after the Bulldogs’ 91-62 win over LSU
Hubbard, a sophomore, has had a phenomenal start to his career. He recently became a back-to-back Howell Trophy winner, which is awarded to the top player in Mississippi. Hubbard is No. 4 in the SEC in scoring. He averages 18.5 points.
Hubbard’s 26 points against LSU (14-18) tied for his third-highest output of the season. He scored a season-high 38 against Alabama.
Jones’ favoritism isn’t a secret. Jones and Hubbard have played on MSU together for two seasons. He said they have a brotherly bond, and that he loves Hubbard.
Mississippi State will play No. 7-seeded Missouri (21-10) on Thursday (7 p.m., SEC Network).
“You could go ask (Hubbard) right now,” Jones said. “He’ll tell you. He knows he’s my favorite player.”
Sam Hutchens covers sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
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