Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball

The Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball program represents Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, in women's NCAA Division I basketball. The Bulldogs play in the Southeastern Conference. The program is notable for ending the UConn Huskies record 111-game winning streak by beating them 66-64 in overtime in the Final Four of the 2017 NCAA tournament. The buzzer beater shot that put the Bulldogs in front of the Huskies came from the smallest player on the court, the 5-foot-5 inch junior, Morgan William.^[2]

Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball
2024–25 Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball team
University	Mississippi State University
First season	1974-1975
All-time record	744–611 (.549)
Head coach	Sam Purcell (3rd season)
Conference	SEC
Location	Starkville, Mississippi
Arena	Humphrey Coliseum (capacity: 10,575)
Nickname	Lady Bulldogs
Colors	Maroon and white[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament runner-up
2017, 2018
Other NCAA tournament results Final Four 2017, 2018 Elite Eight 2017, 2018, 2019 Sweet Sixteen 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Appearances 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2025
Conference tournament champions
2019
Conference regular-season champions
2018, 2019

Head coaches

Name	Years	Record
Libba Birmingham	1974–1977	29–38
Peggy Collins	1977–1984	91–103
Eddie Vaughn	1984–1985	8–19
Brenda Paul	1985–1989	52–56
Jerry Henderson	1989–1995	62–101
Sharon Fanning-Otis	1995–2012	281–232
Vic Schaefer	2012–2020	221–62
Nikki McCray-Penson	2020–2021	10–9
Doug Novak (Interim)	2021–2022	15–14
Sam Purcell	2022–present	67–35

Roster

2025–26 Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Destiney McPhaul 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS Sr West Catholic Preparatory HS Philadelphia, PA G/F 5 Chandler Prater 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr North Kansas City HS Kansas City, MO C 13 Rocío Jiménez 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) RS So Central Pointe Christian Academy Elías Piña, Dominican Republic F tbd Kharyssa Richardson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Ole Miss Douglasville, GA G tbd Jaylah Lampley 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Lawrence Central HS Indianapolis, IN F tbd Madison Francis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Lancaster Central HS Lancaster, NY F tbd Nataliyah Gray 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Alief Taylor HS Houston, TX	Head coach Sam Purcell (Auburn) Assistant coach(es) Fred Castro (Oklahoma) Anita Howard (Armstrong State) Samantha Williams (Auburn) Victoria Vivians (Mississippi State) Tony Dukes (Clayton State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Player awards

National awards

Players

• USBWA Freshman of the Year^[3]

LaToya Thomas – 2000

• Senior CLASS Award

LaToya Thomas – 2003

• Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award

Tan White – 2005

• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award

Victoria Vivians – 2018

• Naismith Defensive Player of the Year

Teaira McCowan – 2018

• Elite 90 Award (top GPA among upperclass players at the Final Four)

Jordan Danberry – 2018

Coaches

• Naismith Award

Vic Schaefer – 2018

• WBCA National Coach of the Year

Vic Schaefer – 2018

SEC awards

• Player of the Year

LaToya Thomas – 2002, 2003

Teaira McCowan – 2019

• Freshman of the Year

LaToya Thomas – 2000

• Defensive Player of the Year

Armelie Lumanu – 2010

Martha Alwal – 2014

Teaira McCowan – 2018, 2019

• 6th Woman of the Year

Teaira McCowan – 2017

Gillom Trophy

Player	Winning year(s)
Alexis Rack	2009, 2010
Martha Alwal	2013
Victoria Vivians	2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Teaira McCowan	2019
Jessika Carter	2024

All-Americans

Player	Position	Playing Years
LaToya Thomas	Guard	1999–2003
Tan White	Guard	2001–2005
Alexis Rack	Guard	2006–2010
Victoria Vivians	Guard	2014–2018
Morgan William	Guard	2014–2018
Teaira McCowan	Center	2015–2019
Source: Mississippi State Media Guide CBS SportsespnW

Postseason

NCAAW tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA tournament 13 times. Their combined record is 24–12.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1999	#7	Round of 64	#10 NC State	L 57-76
2000	#3	Round of 64 Round of 32	#14 St. Peter's #11 UAB	W 94-60 L 72-78
2002	#12	Round of 64 Round of 32	#5 Boston College #4 Texas Tech	W 65-59 L 55-77
2003	#3	Round of 64 Round of 32	#14 Manhattan #6 New Mexico	W 73-47 L 61-73
2009	#11	Round of 64 Round of 32	#6 Texas #3 Ohio State	W 71-63 L 58-64
2010	#7	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#10 Middle Tennessee #2 Ohio State #3 Florida State	W 68-64 W 87-67 L 71-74
2015	#5	Round of 64 Round of 32	#12 Tulane #4 Duke	W 57-47 L 56-64
2016	#5	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#12 Chattanooga #4 Michigan State #1Connecticut	W 60-50 W 74-72 L 38-98
2017	#2	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	#15 Troy #7 DePaul #3 Washington #1 Baylor #1 Connecticut #1 South Carolina	W 110-69 W 92-71 W 75-64 W 94-85OT W 66-64OT L 55-67
2018	#1	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	#16 Nicholls State #9 Oklahoma State #4 NC State #3 UCLA #1 Louisville #1 Notre Dame	W 95-50 W 71-56 W 71-57 W 89-73 W 73-63OT L 58-61
2019	#1	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#16 Southern #9 Clemson #5 Arizona State #3 Oregon	W 103-46 W 85-61 W 76-53 L 84-88
2023	#11	First Four Round of 64 Round of 32	#11 Illinois #6 Creighton #3 Notre Dame	W 70-56 W 81-66 L 48–53
2025	#9	Round of 64 Round of 32	#8 California #1 USC	W 59-46 L 59-96

WBIT tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the WBIT 1 times. Their combined record is 2–1.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2024	#2	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Georgia Tech #3 TCU at #1 Penn State	W 84–47 W 68–61 L 87–92

WNIT / NWIT tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the WNIT and its predecessor the NWIT 7 times with a combined record of 6-8.

Year	Tourney	Round	Result
1988	NWIT	Third Round	1-2
1998	WNIT	First Round	0-1
2001	WNIT	Third Round	2-1
2005	WNIT	First Round	0-1
2007	WNIT	Third Round	1-1
2008	WNIT	Second Round	0-1
2014	WNIT	Third Round	2-1

See also

Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball statistical leaders