NCAA Women’s March Madness: Mississippi State vs. Illinois

March Madness officially underway for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team, taking down Illinois last night 70-56.

This  was MSU’s first NCAA tournament win since 2019.

The Lady Bulldogs found a spark in the third quarter, outscoring the fighting Illini 21-8 during that stretch. Guard Anastasia Hayes said, “Defense turned into offense and we were just playing and having fun. It was just like AAU out there for a second so that third quarter was just fun.”

Head Coach Sam Purcell said, “My phone starts going crazy for like an hour and a half and I know it’s not my wife and kids. I know it’s not an emergency. I’m like who is blowing me up. You know who it was? It was every SEC head coach. We have a thread and they are like ‘Sam you set the tone man, good luck.’”

Next up for the Lady Bulldogs is a match up with 6-seed Creighton at 5 p.m. tomorrow from South Bend, Indiana.