Mississippi

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

Published

1 year ago

February 6, 2025

‘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

Stamps Super Burgers named best burger in Mississippi

Published

5 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Stamps Super Burgers named best burger in Mississippi

A Jackson, Mississippi, icon has been named the best burger in Mississippi.

Foodie offers tips for “living a delicious life” from where you go out to eat to what you cook at home. It’s ranked the best hamburger restaurant in every state.

“Of course, the bigger burger chain names have become famous worldwide, but U.S. soil is also home to a dazzling variety of burger businesses, from those selling everything from high-end gastroburgers and gluten- or meat-free versions, to hole-in-the-wall places that have been slinging sliders for generations,” Scheenagh Harrington wrote for Foodie.

The site’s pick for the best in the Magnolia State is not surprising.

“Many businesses claim their product is the best in town, but Jackson-based Stamps Super Burgers really does deliver,” Harrington wrote.

They warned to plan your trip. Afternoons can get very busy.

Why do people love Stamps burgers?

Stamps Super Burgers, 1801 Dalton St., Jackson, was founded in 1986. Since then, three generations of the Stamps family have served juicy burgers and fresh-cut fries to the community.

Today, it’s co-owned by Phil Stamps Jr. In a previous interview with the Clarion Ledger, he said it “originally started with my grandmother and grandfather in 1970 when they purchased it from Canterbury Grocery, and the entire family operated that business as a grocery and meat market for a while before transitioning over to burgers in 1986.”

The kitchen is open, in the center of the restaurant. You can watch employees cut potatoes for fries or man the grill.

A signature Stamps hamburger comes with an 11-ounce beef patty and mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onions. The menu also has wings and different burger options, like turkey or portobello.

The Washington Addition restaurant regularly tops “best of” rankings for the state. In 2024, it was on the USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list.

Where are the best burgers in Jackson, MS?

Yelp lists the Top 10 burger joints in Jackson, based on user reviews.

Stamps Super Burgers
Foundation Burger
Fat Albert’s
Cs’s
Rooster’s Restaurant
Rowan’s
Bulldog Burger
The Pig & Pint
Brent’s Drugs
Not Just a Burger

Contributing: Kiara Fleming

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY NETWORK. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century

Published

17 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

An 1850s Parsonage in Natchez, Mississippi, Is Selling for the First Time in Over a Century

A 174-year-old brick parsonage house on a bluff above the Mississippi River is now for sale in Natchez, Mississippi, asking $1.985 million.

The home, completed in 1852, was built by architect James Hardie as a residence for Methodist ministers, according to historical records. The land was donated by Peter Little, a wealthy cotton broker and slave owner who built the city’s historic Rosalie mansion.

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The house was initially built as a one-story residence with an “English” basement and a carriage house; a two-story annex was added later, according to the listing with Douglas Adams of Crescent Sotheby’s International Realty, informed by the Historic Natchez Foundation.

“The location is what is superb because it is one of the highest points in Natchez overlooking the Mississippi River,” said Adams, who posted the listing Thursday.

In 1893, the Parsonage changed hands for the last time when it was purchased by James and Agnes Metcalfe, and has been in the Metcalfe family ever since.

Known as the Parsonage, the residence is considered a classic example of Greek Revival architecture from the pre-Civil War South, with a wide portico, raised porch and sash windows. It is located on South Broadway Street, in a commanding position that overlooks Bluff Park, the Mississippi and downtown Natchez. It spans 6,500 square feet with five bedrooms, two formal parlors flanking a central hall and richly detailed interiors that include original exposed-brick walls, fireplaces and stained-glass windows.

In addition to a front porch, the property includes several outdoor terraces and balconies, including a second-floor wraparound deck and a balustraded rooftop—which has the best vantage point from which to see the wide views.

The home was occupied for many years by the late Albert and Gay Metcalfe, who married at the Parsonage in 1959, and would host events for friends. “It became something of a social hub,” Adams said. “They’d host families to celebrate someone’s life; there may have been some weddings that occurred there.”

Gay Metcalfe died in 2023 and the heirs are her three children, Adams said. The family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Hardie, the architect, was a Scottish immigrant who built several other notable buildings in Natchez, including most prominently St. Mary Basilica, a Gothic Revival structure on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Homewood plantation, a Greek Revival mansion.

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According to local lore, the Parsonage was commissioned by Little because his wife, Eliza’s religious devotion led her to welcome every passing minister into their home, according to “Natchez,” a 1940s history of the city. Displeased with the “long siege of such guests,” Little decided to build a separate home for his wife’s visitors.

Little’s own mansion at Rosalie still stands today near the site of the 1729 massacre of the Natchez Native Americans, from whom the city takes its name.

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