Mississippi State women’s basketball boarded a plane for their second away excursion of the season, preparing for an upcoming matchup against Buffalo.
Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN+ at Broadview Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
The matchup brings the Bulldogs to 3-0 on the year after they took down Troy, 79-57, Mississippi State reported. Favour Nwaedozi collected her sixth-straight double-double spanning back to the 2025-26 season with 22 points and 19 rebounds.
Stat Line Dominance
During her sophomore campaign competing in the United States, Nwaedozi has paced the Bulldogs in both points and boards across all three of the team’s opening contests. Connecting on 25 of 35 attempts this year, she boasts a 71.4 percent shooting clip that places her among the top 20 players nationwide.
Across the entire SEC, Nwaedozi stands alone as the sole competitor—and is joined by only four others across the country—posting averages of at least 15 points alongside 12 rebounds per contest. Having pulled down 19 boards versus Troy, she currently shares the conference high for rebounds in a single game this season.
Producing her most impressive performance thus far, Madison Francis finished the contest with 15 points, five boards, and two blocks. Aryss Macktoon collected 11 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists in 20 minutes.
Melissa Guillet and Tootie Lockett both finished with six points. Guillet grabbed a career-high three steals while Lockett brought in six rebounds.
Reese Beaty has recorded five assists in each of her three games as a Bulldog after recording five against Troy.
Defensive Pressure
Averaging 26.3 forced turnovers across their initial three games, Mississippi State sits just outside the top 30 in the country in that category. State is holding opponents to a 28.9 field goal percentage, ranking 21st nationally, and a 15.9 three-point percentage, ranking 10th nationally.
The Bulldogs limit second chances for their opponents on the offensive glass, ranking eighth nationally in defensive rebounds per game at 34.7.
Scouting Buffalo
Buffalo moved to 2-1 with a Thursday victory over Sacramento State. Meg Lucas and Ava Lamonica led the Bulls in the contest, collecting 20 and 18 points, respectively. Kristen Sharkey is in her second season at the helm of the Buffalo program.
Mississippi State has won the only previous matchup between these two teams, leading the series 1-0. The previous matchup came on December 29, 2010, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where State won 72-58.
