Mississippi State Women's Basketball Starting Lineup Posts Strong Performance Against LSU

Mississippi State women's basketball put its best foot forward Sunday night against LSU with a strong starting lineup that had several bright moments on Sunday, despite a 74-59 loss to LSU.

That group included Anastasia Hayes, Jerkalia Jordan, Jessika Carter, Ahlana Smith, and Ramani Parker. 

It marked the junior Parker's first collegiate start, as she initially redshirted as a freshman and did not see any action. Back in high school, she was a four-star prospect and ranked No. 99 in the class of 2019 and rated as the No. 13 forward in class by ESPN W. 

Since being at State, she has posted multiple high points throughout her career. One of the biggest of those came in the 2022 season in the first five minutes of action against UT-Martin as she scored a season high of six points. 

Three-point shots were an area of difficulty for both teams on Sunday, an area that Parker helped some in. It wasn't until the final two minutes of the first half that either team nailed a three-pointed until Parker scored a three-point for the team. State finished the night out with four three-pointers while LSU totaled zero.

On the offensive side of thing specifically, there's no question that Jordan was Sunday's power house, ending the night with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals. 

Carter was another high scorer, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. Last night she recorded her 21st double digit game of the season. 

Hayes was excellent with assists in the game and recored five for the contest. Smith and Asianae Johnson scored seven points each. 

Up next, State will return to play in the SEC tournament. They are No. 5 seed and will be playing either No. 12 seed Vanderbilt or No. 13 seed Texas A&M on March 2nd.