Mississippi
Thieves in East Memphis break into truck belonging to Mississippi sheriff’s deputy, steal badge, guns
![Thieves in East Memphis break into truck belonging to Mississippi sheriff’s deputy, steal badge, guns Thieves in East Memphis break into truck belonging to Mississippi sheriff’s deputy, steal badge, guns](https://gray-wmctv-prod.gtv-cdn.com/resizer/v2/26ZXATMVBVERLPNJPR5TMEWPAY.png?auth=90c462a0463d67f9b654e1bf5211f6163561c53d14d54bb2056ad782597342a0&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A Bolivar County Sheriff’s deputy had his badge and three guns stolen after thieves broke into his truck that was parked outside an East Memphis hotel.
According to the Memphis police report, the crime took place sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning outside the Marriot Memphis East, located on Poplar Avenue.
The burglars busted the rear passenger window of the deputy’s 2024 GMC Sierra, taking two fully-loaded Glock handguns, a Ruger rifle, and the deputy’s gold badge.
So far, no suspects have been identified.
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Mississippi
What ‘shocked’ Chris Jans of Mississippi State basketball’s second half collapse vs Florida
![What ‘shocked’ Chris Jans of Mississippi State basketball’s second half collapse vs Florida What ‘shocked’ Chris Jans of Mississippi State basketball’s second half collapse vs Florida](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2025/02/12/PNAS/78433373007-usatsi-25392003.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5007,2818,x0,y260&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Chris Jans said vibes were strong in Mississippi State basketball’s locker room at halftime.
There was a sense of normalcy by all accounts. If anything, the Bulldogs coach said they were disappointed they didn’t lead No. 3 Florida by more than one point.
Immediately after that was one of the worst stretches MSU has played all season. The Gators scored the first 17 points of the second half and computed a 25-4 run over six minutes, 41 seconds, flipping MSU’s one-point lead into a 20-point deficit. Florida (21-3, 8-3 SEC) won 81-68 on Tuesday night despite one starter not playing and another, Alex Condon, exiting the game with an injury 30 seconds in.
“I just was shocked that that’s how we were playing,” Jans said. “We just didn’t have the type of urgency and fight that we showed the majority in the first half from where I sat.”
It dropped Mississippi State (17-7, 5-6) to 3-6 in the last nine games. The Bulldogs have also trailed by at least 20 points in consecutive games at Humphrey Coliseum.
What went wrong for Mississippi State in the second half
Mississippi State missed its first three shots of the second half, but that wasn’t necessarily the issue. It only attempted three shots in the first five minutes of the half because of turnovers.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over six times during Florida’s 17-0 run. Three of them were credited to forward KeShawn Murphy.
“Basically, they just came out more hungry than we did,” Murphy said, who scored 18 points with 13 rebounds. “We started out flat, got down on ourselves for some reason, and it shows.”
Jans called a timeout with 16:32 remaining and Florida’s run at 9-0. He then had to call another timeout with one minute, 23 seconds later when Florida quickly scored eight more points.
“I just didn’t expect it,” Jans said. “In the first half, we were frustrated with ourselves offensively. I thought we set the tone and had a good defensive first half. We rebounded the ball very well in the first half, and that was a big goal for us.
“And for whatever reason, we were just out of sync in terms of all five guys when we’re going into defense to offense and what we’re trying to run and what we’re trying to do. We just weren’t all where we needed to be every time. It wasn’t one guy. It was just one time it was this guy; one time it was the next guy. It was frustrating for us because we just didn’t feel like we were giving ourselves the best chance to take advantage of what we were trying to do against their defense.”
Mississippi State lost again to a top team
The loss dropped Mississippi State to 0-5 against top 10 teams this season, all of which have come in SEC play.
“I feel like early on in the season, we played our basketball and stuck together,” Murphy said. “Now it’s just like when things get hard, we break into pieces a little bit. We got to stick to what we know and who we’ve been. We got to find our identity and we’re losing that a little bit.”
Mississippi State only has one regular-season game remaining against a top 10 team on Feb. 25 at Alabama. Four of the remaining seven regular-season games are against unranked opponents.
“I’m certainly concerned,” Jans said. “I’m a little shocked because we had a great practice yesterday. We were coming off a very tough, well-earned road victory. The vibe was really, really good. Shootaround was one of the better ones we’ve had. They were excited. Togetherness was showing.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic
![Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic Chaffin shines as No. 24 Mississippi State goes 4-1 at NFCA Leadoff Classic](https://cdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MSU-softball-021125-copy.jpg)
Just a few months ago, Raelin Chaffin was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer shortly after transferring to Mississippi State from LSU. But she was at the top of her game in her first weekend as a Bulldog, helping No. 24 MSU win four of five games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.
In the season opener Friday against No. 13 Texas Tech, Chaffin emerged victorious in an eight-inning pitchers’ duel with NiJaree Canady, the best pitcher in the country last year. Canady struck out 12 Bulldogs and issued just one walk, but Chaffin matched her out for out until MSU broke through in extras.
Outfielders Kiarra Sells and Sierra Sacco each hit RBI singles in the eighth and Morgan Bernardini hit a sacrifice fly to break a scoreless tie and put the Bulldogs ahead by three. Chaffin issued two walks and hit a batter in the bottom of the inning to load the bases, but closed out the 3-1 victory on a foul pop-up to shortstop Kylee Edwards.
“Raelin’s performance was awesome. I’m so excited for her. We knew bringing her in that there was just a little something in her, just that competitive edge. She just still wanted to prove herself in her last season,” MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “There was no doubt that we were letting her finish that game. She’d earned the right, and she was doing a great job of competing. She was confident.”
The Bulldogs lost 8-0 in five innings later Friday to No. 7 Duke as both junior Josey Marron and senior Lexi Sosa struggled in the pitchers’ circle, with the Blue Devils scoring in every inning. MSU then made five errors and struggled to get the bats going against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, but woke up just in time.
Bernardini led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and Sacco drove her in with one out to tie the game. With two outs, Sells singled to left field to bring home Sacco and give the Bulldogs a 3-2 win. Chaffin, who relieved Marron in the sixth, earned her second win of the weekend.
“I was super confident that any ball that was coming my way, I was going to hit it,” said Sells, a junior who had played sparingly prior to this season and had not recorded a hit with MSU before this weekend. “That was kind of my mindset.”
Sacco and the offense remained hot in Saturday’s second game against Penn State. Sosa’s RBI single and Edwards’ two-run double gave the Bulldogs a three-run lead in the first inning, and Sacco added on with run-scoring doubles in the second and the sixth.
Her three doubles in the game set a school record and helped make life easy for Chaffin, who tossed six shutout innings before freshman Sara Phillips closed out the 6-1 win in her first collegiate appearance.
“For me, it’s just about getting a barrel on it and just getting a good swing off,” Sacco said. “Whether it turns out to be a double, single, triple, it doesn’t really make a difference to me as long as I’m on base for my next teammate that will get me in.”
Chaffin — who was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday — concluded her stellar weekend Sunday with a complete-game shutout against No. 19 Nebraska, striking out six without issuing a walk. Sacco cleared the bases with a two-out, three-run double in the second for all the runs Chaffin needed in a 3-0 victory.
MSU (4-1) will open Nusz Park for the 2025 season this coming weekend with The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament — named in honor of former outfielder Alex Wilcox, who died from ovarian cancer following her freshman year in 2018. The Bulldogs will play Southern Illinois, North Texas, Bradley and Georgia Tech.
“I didn’t have a whole lot to show in the fall, but the whole time (the coaching staff) just kept reinforcing that they brought me here for a reason,” Chaffin said. “Just carrying that out to the field and knowing that they want me here, they have confidence in me and they’re going to let me get whatever I’ve got to get out and keep me in the game and let me ride.”
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Mississippi
Gators expect Martin (hip) back for Mississippi St.
![Gators expect Martin (hip) back for Mississippi St. Gators expect Martin (hip) back for Mississippi St.](https://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0108%2Fr1435780_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 3 Florida expects guard Alijah Martin to play at Mississippi State on Tuesday night.
Martin missed the team’s upset at top-ranked Auburn on Saturday because of a hip pointer. But coach Todd Golden said Monday that Martin was “moving around really well” in practice and should be back in the starting lineup against the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs.
“I think he’ll play,” Golden said. “I anticipate he’ll play, but it’s a funny little injury and a little pull here and there can bother him. But he looked really good (Sunday).”
Martin ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points a game. He also averages 4.9 rebounds and ranks second on the team with 58 assists.
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