Florida Gators

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Gators are back on the road Sunday afternoon and face Mississippi State for the second time this season. The matchup marks the Gators' 10th conference game of the 2023-24 season and the Bulldogs' 11th.

Both Florida (3-6 SEC) and Mississippi State (7-3) enter Sunday's contest after securing Thursday night home wins. The Gators defeated Arkansas 85-81 in a come-from-behind thriller and Mississippi State is coming off a nearly 20-point victory over Georgia (76-57).

MISSISSIPPI STATE (20-5 7-3 SEC):

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 11
• Time: 3 p.m. CST
• Site: Humphrey Coliseum 
• Stream: SECN
• Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM
• Stats: StatBroadcast
• Tickets

 
THE SERIES:
The current series between Florida and Mississippi State is in favor of the Bulldogs at 28-26. The Gators are looking to close in on the two-victory gap that Mississippi State holds on Sunday afternoon.

HISTORY:
Florida and Mississippi State have met a recorded 54 times in their respective school histories. The most recent matchup was in January of 2024 in Gainesville, with the Bulldogs defeating the Gators 89-77. Mississippi State shot 43.8 percent from the three and 47.1 from the field, compared to the Gators 36.0 field goal percentage and 36.0 percent from the three. Florida's last win over Mississippi State was Feb. 10, 2022 in Starkville, coming out 73-64 at home with Zippy Broughton totaling 21 points for the gators. 

FLORIDA'S LAST GAME:
Florida's last time out was an 85-81 home win against Arkansas on Thursday night. The win marked Florida's third SEC win of the season, after defeating Georgia and Texas A&M. Overall, the Gators were led by Leilani Correa with a 20-point outing. Aliyah Matharu went 6-of-17 from the field and recorded three steals for the Gators. Jeriah Warren picked up her first double double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE:
Mississippi State will be coming off a Thursday evening win against Georgia, and currently holds a 7-3 SEC record. Overall the Bulldogs have three players averaging in double figures for scoring this season. They are led by Jerkaila Jordan who sits at No.9 in the SEC with a combined 419 points, averaging 16.8 an outing. Following Jordan at No. 12 is Jessika Carter with a season average of 14.9 points per game.
Carter also leads the Bulldogs on the boards with 215 for the season and an average of 9.8 a game. Jerkaila Jordan sits behind her averaging 6.4 per contest.
 
QUICK HITS:

• Florida is 9-14 against MSU in Starkville
• Florida has lost ten of the last 11 meetings with Mississippi State
  • Prior to that span, Florida held a nine-game win streak over Mississippi State (2009-2014)
• Lauren Park-Lane paces Mississippi State with six assists per game
  • Her six assists per game average ranks second in the SEC and is tied for 12^th in Division I
• Florida's Aliyah Matharu is third in the SEC for scoring and Leilani Correa is fourth for all games this season
• Aliyah Matharu is fourth and Mississippi State's Jerkaila Jordan is fifth in the SEC for steals per game
• Mississippi State has three players averaging double-digit points per game (Jerkaila Jordan 16.8, Jessica Carter 14.9, Debreasha Powe 10.3)

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