WBB 2K22: Mississippi State Preview

Women's college basketball is coming soon. Here at Winners Only, we will be dropping some previews of our favorite teams to watch for the 2k22 season. Our theme for women's sports in 2022 is "Rise of the Woman."

Mississippi State

2020-21 Record: 10-9

Head Coach: Nikki McCray-Penson

Opening Game: Alabama State, Nov. 9

Rickea Jackson returns as the leading scorer from last season's team. The 6-2 forward is a junior from Detroit, Michigan. She was named Honorable Mention on the WBCA All-American Team after averaging 14.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She scored a season high 30 points against Troy when she shot 6-10 from three. Jackson scored 23 points against Kentucky and posted 20 points with nine rebounds against Auburn. As a freshman during the 2019-20 season Jackson averaged 15.1 points per game. She also shot career bests .483 from the field and .419 from three.

Senior center Jessika Carter is back as well. The 6-5 post player from Waverly Hall, Georgia averaged a career best 14.3 points last season. She has proven to be a strong shot blocker with 119 rejections in 88 games. She also has averaged 8.7 rebounds per game over the past two seasons. Her best offensive performance from the 2020-21 season was a 29-point effort against Central Arkansas. She made 12-of-16 shots during that game. Carter also had 15 rebounds to go along with three blocks and two steals in that contest. She had 25 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks against Florida. She began the season with five blocks, which was her high of the season in the opener against Jackson State. Carter has a career shooting percentage of .540.

Anastasia Hayes is a transfer who had one of the best individual seasons in all of the NCAA, while guiding Middle Tennessee to the NCAA Tournament. The 5-7 redshirt senior guard averaged 26.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game on her way to being named Conference USA Player of the Year. She scored a season high 42 points while shooting 6-8 against UAB. Hayes posted 26 points in the NCAA Tournament during a first round loss to Tennessee. Hayes had a near triple-double against Troy, scoring 29 points with a season high 10 assists and seven rebounds. She also got things done on defense nabbing six steals on two separate occasions.

Aislynn Hayes is another transfer from Middle Tennessee as she joins her big sister Anastasia and her younger sister Alasia Hayes who came over from Notre Dame. Aislynn is 5-6 junior guard who was named All-Conference USA Second Team. She averaged 14 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. She scored 29 points and drained four three-pointers against Florida International. Asilynn had three double-doubles last season. The first was an 18-point, 10-rebound performance against Tulane. Against Florida Atlantic, she had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Her third double-double came when she had 10 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Miss. Asilynn's season high came against Western Kentucky when she dished out eight assists, while scoring 15 points.

Another transfer will make her debut for Mississippi State when Ashley Jones takes the court in the 2021-22 season. She last played for Temple during the 2019-20 season. She named was Second Team All-American Athletic Conference, after averaging 16 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Jones was selected the conference Newcomer of the Year. It was her first season in the conference after transferring from West Virginia. She scored a season's best 24 points twice that season and dished out nine assists two times as well. Her rebound high that season was also nine which she also did on two occasions.