3 takeaways from Mississippi State's blowout win at Jackson State

There were no surprises in the Williams Assembly Center on Thursday night when No. 10 Mississippi State overpowered Jackson State.

Sophomore center Jessika Carter scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading the Bulldogs to a 92-53 win. Mississippi State (5-0) had a 64-32 advantage in points in the paint.

Freshman Rickea Jackson added 13 points and four rebounds for the Bulldogs.

"I just want to thank Jackson State for having us down and allowing us to play in the state capital with them here on their campus," Mississippi State women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer said.

Here are the three takeaways from the Bulldogs' dominating victory.

Pressure defense

Coming into the game, Jackson State head coach Tomekia Reed said she wanted the Tigers to keep turnovers below 15 every night. Mississippi State's full-court defense forced 22 Jackson State turnovers, 13 by halftime.

The Bulldogs capitalized, scoring 25 points off of the turnovers. Even when Jackson State (1-4) broke the full-court pressure, the Tigers' guards struggled to run the offense.

"They have to learn how to get in our offense a lot quicker and not play around with the basketball," Reed said.

Ameyshya Williams plays former team

Jackson State junior forward Ameyshya Williams played sparingly as a freshman at Mississippi State and left the program after playing in the season opener as a sophomore.

Reed said Williams was counting down the games this season until she faced her old squad. The Gulfport native finished the night with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"I'm happy for that kid," Schaefer said. "She's long. She can alter shots, block shots. I've seen her go all the way out to the 3-point line and block shots before. She impacts that team, her team's going to be really good. Especially in their league, I think they're going to do really well."

The legend of the jacket lives

Prior to the game, Reed said that she notices that Mississippi State plays well after Schaefer takes off his jacket. Midway through the second quarter, the jacket came flying off, resulting in a rousing ovation from the Bulldog fans. Mississippi State then went on a 20-8 to end the first half.

So does he think there is any actual power in discarding the jacket?

"I really don't," Schaefer said after laughing. "I think there's an emotional charge for me. I may go to another level, but as you know, I don't play a minute."

When he took off the jacket, Schaefer was frustrated because he thought Aliyah Matharu took a charge. The referee called it a block.

"I felt like the kid deserved the call, and she's looking at me like, 'Man, you've been screaming at me to do this for two months, I finally do it and it's a block? Come on,'" Schaefer said. "I wanted to make sure she knew that I was proud of her trying and, obviously, I felt like she got it."

Next up, the Tigers travel to Central Arkansas, and the Bulldogs head on the road to face Marquette.