Don’t Sleep on Mississippi State Next Season
Mississippi State made a name for themselves in women’s basketball in the last two years with back-to-back national championship game appearances, their first SEC title, and a top ten WNBA draft pick. After graduating the winningest class in school history, which included all but one player in their starting lineup, many have been wondering who will fill in the holes?
Anriel Howard just might be the answer they were looking for. The former Texas A&M player announced Thursday that she will be headed to Mississippi State, and as a grad transfer, she will be immediately eligible. While Howard’s 5'11" stature might not make it obvious, the Bulldogs have picked up another elite rebounder. In her 33 minutes per game at A&M last season, Howard averaged a double-double. Her 12.1 points per game certainly add another scoring option, but it’s her 12.2 boards per game that really stand out.
Even more notably, her 4.6 offensive rebounds per game ranked ninth in the nation among all players last year. Howard corralled an impressive 15.4 percent of the offensive boards available to her. Combine that with Teaira McCowan’s 6.1 offensive rebounds per game, and State now has two of the top ten offensive rebounders in the NCAA. McCowan also ranks second among all players with a offensive rebounding rate of 22.2 percent. With both Howard and McCowan in the front court, the Bulldogs are certainly a force to we reckoned with on the offensive glass.
Of course, this still leaves some questions as to where the scoring will come from. Victoria Vivians’ volume and efficiency is far from easy to replace, but Mississippi State has quite a few weapons in their pocket. Myah Taylor, the five-star point guard recruit who redshirted last season, will almost certainly be one answer. Taylor, a three-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, averaged 20.3 points per game in her high school senior season. She also added 7.5 assists and 6.2 steals per game.
The Bulldogs also have last year’s backup point guard Jazzum Holmes. She averaged just 15 minutes per game last year behind starter Morgan William. As a result, Holmes’ counting stats are not particularly impressive. However, when she was on the floor, she assisted on 28.2 percent of her teammates’ field goals. That places her in the 95th percentile, and is actually slightly better than William’s assist rate of 28.0 percent. Additionally, rising senior Jordan Danberry showed flashes of excellence in her ten point performance to help Mississippi State top Louisville in the overtime national semifinal.
With their strengthened front court and many offensive weapons, Vic Schaefer and his team are poised for another impressive season. Don’t be all that surprised if we see Mississippi State on the court in Tampa in April.
If you like this content, please support our work at Her Hoop Stats by subscribing for just $20 a year.
