Rickea Jackson drops 40 for Mississippi State women's basketball in blowout win vs McNeese State

STARKVILLE — There are few times when the gulf in talent between two teams is as apparent as it was Wednesday night when Mississippi State met McNeese State and ran them out of Humphrey Coliseum, doubling — and doubling again — the lead in short order.

The 102-55 Bulldogs’ win was never in doubt. They scored the first 12 points before the Cowgirls (3-4) broke through with a layup four minutes into the game. Then Mississippi State scored the next 16 points in the first quarter, ending this as a contest before 10 minutes had transpired.

There were still 30 minutes to play, however, which led the Bulldogs (6-1) to their most dominant showing of the season. The rest of the way won’t be this easy — in fact, interim coach Doug Novak’s team will face Oklahoma on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

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FIRST LOSS: Mississippi State women's basketball falls to No. 12 Michigan for Doug Novak's first loss as interim coach

But after losing to No. 12 Michigan at the Daytona Beach Invitational, Mississippi State ensured that streak ended at one against a severely outmatched opponent.

"That Michigan game was a blessing in disguise," forward Rickea Jackson said. "Of course, we want to win those games, but us losing, it changed out mental a little bit. We got exposed a little bit, but it was a good exposure, because we took that and worked on it in practice and we saw that today."

No stopping Rickea Jackson

Jackson caught the dish on the right wing, drove into the paint with her left hand and rose up, hanging in the air before knocking down an off-balance jumper. That basket set a new career-high for Jackson, who was mostly unstoppable Wednesday.

That wasn’t a McNeese State problem alone. Jackson had averaged 19.8 points per game entering Wednesday. But Jackson took her influence to the next level, scoring from all three levels in a dynamic display that didn’t stop with that off-balance jumper.

"I was getting to my spots, open spots," Jackson said. "I feel like it was definitely my teammates, and I feel like our chemistry is getting way better."

With each subsequent make, Jackson drove her scoring total higher. She poured in 40 points on 18-for-26 shooting, adding nine rebounds. She nearly outscored McNeese State by herself — and she might have, if Novak didn’t pull her from the game with just under six minutes remaining.

Jackson has been the focal point of the Bulldogs’ offense all season. That will continue to be as SEC play approaches, but it may not be as pronounced as it was against the Cowgirls from here on as other teams key in on Jackson — and have the players to disrupt her.

Fast-moving offense

Late in the loss to Michigan, the lack of depth caught up with Mississippi State, and the offense became slower and more stagnant, especially in the half court.

McNeese State doesn’t compare to the Wolverines defensively, but the ball movement and speed in transition Wednesday looked more akin to what Novak is expecting. The Bulldogs scored 42 of their 56 first-half points in the paint, with guard Myah Taylor dishing six assists in those two quarters.

Taylor and guard Anastasia Hayes finished with 10 and seven assists, respectively, leading Mississippi State’s ball movement.

"Obviously, it's a different type of team than Michigan," Novak said. "But the things we talked about for the last couple days, in terms of moving it side-to-side and making some extra passes, I thought we did a really nice job."

A lack of depth

For a moment, Novak forgot about the injury to guard Aislynn Hayes, who left the court in the second quarter and limped to the locker room.

"Thanks for reminding me," Novak said.

But Novak was cautiously optimistic Hayes wouldn't miss an extended period of time, avoiding another hit for a team without much depth as it is. Novak said they'll know more Thursday, although the early assessment was she'd be OK. And in a blowout, Novak didn't want to risk aggravating the injury by inserting Hayes once more.

Novak has never coached a team with this short of a bench. The Bulldogs entered Wednesday’s game with 10 available players.

Mississippi State is already without forward Jessika Carter, who’s taking time away from the team. Guards Jasmine Shavers and KN’isha Godfrey entered the transfer portal. And guards Alasia Hayes and Mia Moore remain sidelined through injury.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Rickea Jackson leads Mississippi State women's basketball over McNeese State