STARKVILLE — Basketball season is upon us — almost.
Tuesday, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team was selected to finish third in the Southeastern Conference by members of the media behind South Carolina and Texas A&M per a news release.
Coming off an Elite Eight appearance last season, MSU returns just one starter from in senior guard Jordan Danberry, though it does welcome the nation’s No. 6 recruiting class — headlined by McDonald’s All-American Rickea Jackson.
Jackson, the No. 5 overall recruit in the ESPN HoopGurlz class of 2019 rankings, was a two-time Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and averaged 22.2 points per game during this past summer’s World University Games.
The Bulldogs come into this season seeking their third-straight outright SEC title — something no team has done since Tennessee did so between 2001 and 2004 — after finishing last year 15-1 in conference play while securing the program’s first ever SEC Tournament championship.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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