STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State women’s basketball team is ready to take a break.
After playing six games in 12 days, MSU struggled in the second half of a 75-49 victory against Alabama State Saturday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
“We played really well in the first half and played very poorly in the second half,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “Defense is the cornerstone of what we are trying to do here. All of those things that we take pride in around here, we are not doing. It is alarming and concerning. You forget about how great the first half was — and it was really great — because of how poor the second half was.”
MSU (9-1) started strong offensively and used a suffocating defense to score the first 11 points. The lead grew to 29-5 with 5 minutes, 52 seconds left before halftime.
In the opening half, Alabama State (4-2) shot 13.3 percent from the field and managed only four field goals. MSU forced 18 of Alabama State’s 28 turnovers in that half. In the second half, Alabama State shot 38.7 percent from the field.
“We are having a serious lack of focus,” MSU freshman guard Dominique Dillingham said. “We have to do a better job of executing for two halves.”
While MSU is off to its best start since the 2008-09 squad won 11 straight games to open the season, the room for improvement is vast. The team will spend the week ahead taking final examinations and working on the practice floor before playing host to Southern Mississippi on Saturday night.
“We need a re-set,” MSU junior guard Kendra Grant said. “Not that we won’t take time off or not play games, but we need some time to get our minds right. In the first half tonight, we showed what we are capable of doing. We got to find a way do to that for 40 minutes. We are going to play some teams where doing good things for one half is not going to get it done.”
Last season, MSU finished with 13 wins in Schaefer’s first season. This team can match that win total by taking its final four non-conference games — all against unranked opponents.
“I have been doing this long enough to understand a false sense of security,” Schaefer said. “I think sometimes you go out and think it is going to be easy based on what you saw in the first half. Don’t get me wrong, I am very pleased to be 9-1. We have done this with two freshmen and a junior college transfer on the floor most of the time.
“We are getting non-stop energy all of the time from (Dillingham) and Savannah (Carter). We need that from more people. If you are up 25, good, keep going and build some good things from there.”
Grant had a game-high 16 points, while Dillingham added 13 points — her second straight game in double figures, and fifth overall. Sherise Williams just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
However, the effort statistics continue to bother the Bulldogs. Alabama State became the fourth team to outrebound MSU.
“Consistency. That is the word,” Grant said. “I think that is the most frustrating thing. We know we are so much better than this. We have some games where we played two complete halves, so we know what we can do.”
The Bulldogs shot 45 percent from the field and only attempted two 3-pointers — a pleasing number to Schaefer. However, MSU made 14 turnovers and watched as Alabama State had two sizable runs to remain competitive in the second half.
“Our inability to put two halves together is a major concern,” Schaefer said. “It is lack of focus and lack of attention to detail. We have a very poor lack of commitment to defense. We have a poor focus on that end. I am really concerned they outscored us in the second half.
“We are having serious issues when we substitute with continuity on the floor. Our off-ball defense was not good tonight. That starts with Katia May. She has played very well this season, but did not play well in this game, and I think that carried over to some of the other players.
“The good news is we have some time away. We can get on the practice floor and iron some things out. We are close, but we got to find a way to get there fast because the schedule gets much more difficult from here.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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