STARKVILLE — At one point during Thursday's first-round WBIT game, Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner saw Jasmine Brown-Hagger on the court and said to her bench: "Who is that?"

The question wasn't intended to be malicious, but was referring to a player they didn't see a lot on film — or most of any game this season, for that matter.

Brown-Hagger scored a career-high 17 points to help lead No. 2 seed Mississippi State to an 84-47 drubbing of No. 7 Georgia Tech (17-16) at Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs (22-11) will face No. 3 TCU (21-11) in the second round of the inaugural WBIT at 2 p.m. CT Sunday (ESPN+) and as the higher seed, will get to stay home.

"She had a really nice day today," Fortner said. "She's a really nice player, and that wasn't one we were focused on at all and then she came to play. But it's not like we didn't want to guard her, she just really had a nice game."

Brown-Hagger also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals, making MSU coach Sam Purcell question why he hadn't used her more often during the season.

"The reason Nell (Fortner) made that comment is probably because I'm a dumb coach for not putting her in more," Purcell said jokingly. "I'm proud of her. It's amazing how you have a week off, and people can get better, and she earned it in practice, and she was like, 'I'm here to compete.' And that's what I want."

MORE: Why Mississippi State women's basketball coach Sam Purcell accepted WBIT bid

Brown-Hagger's highest-scoring game this season was on Dec. 29, 2023, when MSU beat Mississippi Valley State 99-35. She had 10 points — her only game with double-digit scoring. Sitting at the podium after the game, a little shy, she dedicated her first-round performance to those who had helped her.

"We were just coming off of a hard time, especially how we ended the season," Brown-Hagger said. "My teammates being with me, and everyone was constantly sharing the ball. Today just happened to be my night with some of the shots I got up. It's really to the team just working hard."

Seeing the 5-foot-9 freshman behind the scenes, Purcell wasn't shocked by her performance, even though she is averaging 1.7 points and 8.2 minutes this season.

"I no longer have any freshmen on this roster. They're all sophomores at this time of year, and she (Brown-Hagger played like one," he said. "She was smooth. She just had a great flow and gave us great minutes off the bench."

MORE: Why Mississippi State women's basketball star Jerkaila Jordan is returning for final season

With Thursday night's performance, Purcell wanted to check Brown-Hagger. During a drive to the basket, she passed up an opportunity to send the ball to Lauren Park-Lane and missed a contested layup. In the next stoppage of play, Purcell said he went right at her.

"I was like, 'I'm coaching you hard because I'm going to coach you hard for the next three years,' " he said. "The way she responded on a night that was her night was fun to see because, man, what a great kid. She's been nothing but first class and she's worked hard behind the scenes."

Lauren Park-Lane breaks single-season assist record

With an assist to Brown-Hagger at the 3-point line, Park-Lane set the program record for assists in a single season with 203.

The graduate senior transfer from Seton Hall passed former MSU star guard Jazzmun Holmes, who set the record of 202 in the 2018-19 season.

"It means a lot," Park-Lane said. "I know a lot of the history behind Mississippi State women's basketball and all the great players that have came through this program, so just having my name in the record books here and only being here for nine months, it means a lot to me."

Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion-Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball's Jasmine Brown-Hagger surprises in WBIT