STARKVILLE — It’s always good to have options.
A year ago, a lack of depth and experience limited the rotations coach Vic Schaefer could use in his first season as coach of the Mississippi State women’s basketball program.
Schaefer and his coach staff attacked that issue in the months leading up to the start of the 2012-13 season, landing a group of players that was ranked one of the top 40 recruiting classes in the nation. MSU has built on that success this season, as Scott Central standout Victoria Vivians is part of a recruiting class that earned a No. 20 ranking from Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball report and espnW’s HoopGurlz.
While Schaefer and his coaches will have to wait to add the players from the Class of 2014 to the mix, they are enjoying mixing and matching the pieces to help this season’s team have success. The latest change came Tuesday when junior point guard Jerica James and freshman guard Dominique Dillingham earned their first starts against North Dakota State. Thanks to a 25-point effort from junior center Martha Alwal, who was playing close to her home in Worthington, Minn., MSU pushed its record to 11-1 with a 72-62 victory. It remains to be seen whether James and Dillingham will be in the starting lineup at 7 tonight when MSU plays host to Southeastern Louisiana (1-9) at Humphrey Coliseum, but Schaefer isn’t worried about which players start because he feels depth is an asset rather than a weakness.
“We have seven players playing 20 minutes a game,” Schaefer said. “Jerica is playing 16 a game and Sherise (Williams) is playing 13 a game. They all can start. I think with those 10 players our chemistry is good.”
Schaefer also feels the competition in practice has helped prepare players like Dillingham and junior Kendra Grant at shooting guard and junior college transfer Savannah Carter and freshmen Ketara Chapel and Breanna Richardson at forward. The return of freshman Chinwe Okorie from a foot injury should help Alwal in practice, too. At 6-foot-5, Okorie is the tallest player on the roster. Unfortunately, Schaefer said the NCAA still hasn’t obtained the paperwork it needs to declare Okorie, who is from Nigeria by way of Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Massachusetts, eligible to play in games. He said he has considered redshirting Okorie and saving her a year of eligibility now that MSU has only two non-conference games left before it kicks off Southeastern Conference play against Florida on Thursday, Jan. 2.
As for the competition at the other positions, Schaefer said Chapel and Richardson are going to have to continue to mature through the trials by fire in the SEC. He said MSU suffered its only loss of the season to Middle Tennessee State University in part because MTSU took away Alwal as a scoring option and forced the Bulldogs’ forwards to play bigger roles. Schaefer said MSU has been working on that issue, which is why it is helpful to have a little more depth in case one player has an off night.
In a 71-61 victory against Southern Mississippi on Dec. 14, Dillingham had 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench. The combination of Chapel and Richardson at forward is averaging 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a game.
“What Dominique gives us is another person off the bench we didn’t have last year,” Schaefer said. “Dominique can score, she can guard, she can take a charge, she is physical, she is tough. Obviously when you are building a program there is a reason you are building it and we were just void of that.
“What her and Savannah bring to the table from a competitiveness (standpoint) is something we were void last year of. Their competitiveness is what got us interested in them.”
Schaefer said after the Southern Miss game that Dillingham brings a “presence” to the court that he saw in her when she was in high school. He also has seen the same quality in Carter, a defensive stopper, and he hopes the competitiveness of both of those players can help the Bulldogs build depth as they work their way into conference play.
“(Dillingham) has been in so many games,” Schaefer said. “She has played at a very high level in AAU. She has been coached. She comes from a very disciplined family. She has great parents. She is everything I thought she would be, and maybe a little more as a freshman. I just think she has been in these positions before and she enjoys being in it.”
NOTE: WKBB-FM (100.9) and WXWX-FM (96.3) will broadcast the game live. HailStateTV subscribers can access the live video and audio streams at www.hailstate.com/hstvlive. … In addition to Bully’s Kidz Kourt, fans can have pictures made with Santa beginning at 6 tonight. There will be special “Reindeer Games” at halftime, as well as Storytime with Santa on the court. Admission to the contest is $5 for adults and free for youth high school age and under.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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