Yes, she's a stud. MSU has played Oregon twice the last two years so I've seen what she can do. Hebard was awesome in Starkville last year 11-12 or something like that.
As you indicated, they had no answer for McCowan last year. 35 and 19 I think. Both teams played lights out on offense. It was an entertaining game.
I'm not nearly as confident as the other Bulldogs on here seem to be. State led the whole way last year, but never put Oregon away, winning by 11.
Oregon is not great on D, but they can really score it. MSU will have to put up a lot of points. Need Anriel to find her stroke.
Last year Oregon was led by two sophomores,. It was also after (and as a result of) this game that Satou Sabally replaced Mallory McGwire in the starting lineup (a freshman for a sophomore), a change that was a key element of Oregon's success over the remainder of the season.
On the other hand, Mississippi State's core last year included three seniors, one of whom just had a stellar first year in the WNBA--and, if memory serves, it was Vivians who, along with McCowan, killed the Ducks last year, scoring about 30 points and making something like two-thirds of her shots, including 5 threes.
One core remains and is a year older and maybe even plays a bit better on defense. The other is mostly gone, but not, of course, McCowan. So, things, as Geno just said, change. Will that make a difference? We should have an answer of sorts in a couple of weeks. But, as an Oregon homer who would rank Mississippi State slightly ahead of Oregon at this point, I don't think the matchup is as problematic for the Ducks as some seem to believe. And I also believe that Oregon is a far better
team than Texas, which--to my eyes--sometimes seems hardly like a team at all despite the talent and recruiting rankings.
