STARKVILLE — It shouldn’t be surprising to hear the word come out of Vic Schaefer’s mouth so quickly.
“I’m shocked that we were able to go from 83 points to 61 against a team that just scored 89 against Seton Hall,” the Mississippi State women’s basketball coach said Friday, one day after his team defeated No. 17 West Virginia 74-61 in the semifinals of the Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament at Humphrey Coliseum.
The victory came on the heels of a 93-83 win against Arkansas State. After that game, Schaefer said he couldn’t remember a time a team he has coached gave up that many points and still won. That’s why the third-year MSU coach was so surprised one game later to see a team without three seniors cut its points allowed by 22 against a team that figures to contend in the Big 12 Conference, one of the nation’s toughest leagues.
“I loved the way we settled in after falling behind 18-11,” Schaefer said. “We settled in early and did a good job and guarded.”
MSU (3-0) will need another effort like that at 2 p.m. today (CBS Sports Network) when it plays host to Western Kentucky in the championship game of the Preseason WNIT at Humphrey Coliseum.
With four freshmen and four sophomores seeing action against West Virginia, MSU was able to deliver its best defensive performance of the season. The Bulldogs limited the Mountaineers (2-1) to 38.3 percent shooting (23 of 60) from the field. They also forced 24 turnovers, had 12 steals, and had a 48-44 edge in rebounding. A 31-20 advantage in offensive rebounds aided the Bulldogs’ cause on the glass.
The common thread in all of the factors was hustle, toughness, and determination. Schaefer said it typically takes time for players to buy in or to learn those qualities. It is especially tough on young teams, like the 2014-15 MSU squad that has played nearly all of its basketball without seniors Martha Alwal, Kendra Grant, and Savannah Carter. Without that experience, Schaefer figured his young team was going to need time to “grow up” and figure things out, particularly on defense. But MSU showed Friday it was capable of stringing possessions together to make things happen.
MSU kicked off the stretch with a solid half-court possession in which several players helped defend a drive in the lane. The Bulldogs adjusted and used help defense to follow the pass to the wing. MSU kept its defensive stance as the pass swung back to the top of the key, where senior guard Jerica James deflected a pass and made a steal.
Fans of making defense out of offense would have loved the next sequence, as Ketara Chapel (career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds) converted an offensive rebound on the other end.
Chapel continued her relentless activity on the glass with another offensive rebound putback that extended MSU’s lead to 55-41. She then took a charge — one of three she was credited with and one of eight by the team — collected a loose ball and hit a layup, and deflected a pass. It was quite a flurry of activity from a player who earlier this month she was “timid” last season.
But Schaefer didn’t see any signs of timidness from Chapel or any of his players Thursday. He said after the game he was pleased with his team’s toughness. He said Friday one thing he hates more than anything is losing 50-50, or loose, balls. He said Friday he hopes the defense MSU played Thursday is “infectious” and carries over to the rest of the season.
“We worked awfully hard the past two days (in practice) and it didn’t look like we were getting anything done,” Schaefer said. “The bottom line was we did have some improvement (Thursday) night.”
As well as MSU played against West Virginia, Schaefer cautioned that his team is still young. He said he still will search out “little victories” and feels there will be “lots of small victories within the big victories.” He also knows that there could be times the team takes one step forward and then takes two steps back just because it is so young and that is will learn some things as it goes. He said the key will come in practice, where the Bulldogs can learn to love getting on the floor and going after 50-50 balls and offensive rebounds and taking charges.
“If we hold them accountable in practice it becomes a learned response,” Schaefer said. “If there is a loose ball on the floor, (I want them thinking), ‘I am going.’ I want it to be an every deal where we create that toughness and those habits. Diving on the floor is a habit you develop. It doesn’t matter if it is practice, a pickup game, or if you’re playing in the SEC.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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