STARKVILLE — It hasn’t long for LaKaris Salter to gain the support of the fans at Humphrey Coliseum.
Whether it has been spin moves, deft passes, or potential layups of breakaways, the freshman has dazzled Mississippi State women’s basketball fans with her offensive skills.
Now Salter wants to find a way to dazzle MSU coach Vic Schaefer with more than just long jump shots. Salter took another step in her progression Tuesday night when she scored a career-high 16 points in a 109-58 victory against North Dakota State. Salter, a 6-foot-1 forward from Tallahassee, Florida, was 6 of 8 from the field and had 10 of her points in a 1-minute, 22-second stretch late in the Bulldogs’ latest victory.
After the game, Salter talked like a veteran, thanking her teammates for finding her when she was open. But Salter also recognizes that she is competing against some of those teammates to get a chance to show what she can do on the court. Coming off a game in which a season-best 12 Bulldogs scored to help push No. 23 MSU to 7-0, Salter knows she will have to work hard in practice to earn the opportunities to contribute.
“It starts in practice,” Salter said. “If you ever sat in on our practices, you see we push each other hard each and every day. We might get tired, but we keep pushing each other and motivating each other to keep going. You have to be patient. Sometimes you will, sometimes you won’t. You just have to be patient and when your time comes show him why he should put you in the game.”
Salter admits she is working behind sophomores Ketara Chapel and Breanna Richardson for playing time. With Martha Alwal returning from injury, the Bulldogs have a bolstered front line that also includes junior Sherise Williams and sophomore Chinwe Okorie. Alwal is coming off a junior season in which she was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference performer, while Okorie is in her first season and Williams has matured as a player and is playing more significant minutes.
The addition of freshman Victoria Vivians has given MSU a scorer on the perimeter, which has allowed Schaefer to experiment with lineups and to move Richardson, who spent most of last season as a power forward, or a four player, to small forward, or the three position.
Richardson, who started 31 of 36 games last season, has come off the bench in the first seven games this season. She had her first double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds) against North Dakota State in her most energetic performance of the season. But Richardson said the Bulldogs don’t need to do anything special to impress Schaefer to get playing time.
Vivians said whoever has the hot hand coming off the bench should get a chance to get more playing time. Salter hopes she can keep that hot hand and improve on the defensive end to get more chances to wow the crowd.
“I feel I have to get better in practice and get myself in better shape and keep working and learning from Breanna and Ketara,” Salter said. “They are who I look up to. Being a freshman, you have to look up to the people ahead of you. I just feel great. I don’t really worry about playing time. When I get in, I do my job and do what coach asks me to do. When I am on the bench, I am cheering my teammates on.”
Schaefer acknowledged Tuesday the lift Salter gives the crowd at Humphrey Coliseum. He wasn’t surprised to hear Salter send a jolt through the arena by hitting back-to-back 3-ponuters because he knows Salter has all the offensive tools to contribute. He said Salter needs to improve on the other end so he can consistently add her to a mix that figures to get even deeper when senior guard Savannah Carter returns to 100 percent.
“Your skill set determines your confidence and how you play,” Schaefer said. “If you practice well, you feel good about going into ballgames. We haven’t been at full strength yet, when we get to full strength, then it becomes a who’s hot and who’s not. Some nights we might 11 or 12 to choose from. Some nights we might only be able to go eight or nine deep. If we are going to play like I want to play and press, defend, pick up, and get that game up-tempo, we are going to have some depth at every position.”
Carter named an Allstate Good Works Team nominee
Senior Savannah Carter has been tabbed a nominee for the 2015 Allstate Good Works Team, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Wednesday.
Carter was one of 93 players nominated for the award, which recognizes student-athletes “who have demonstrated a commitment to enriching the lives of others and contributing to the greater good in their communities.”
From the 93 nominees, two 10-member teams made up of five NCAA Division I student-athletes and five from NCAA Divisions II, III, and NAIA will be announced in February and recognized at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa Bay.
“I’m proud of Savannah for being nominated for this award,” Schaefer said. “It’s a great indicator of our entire team. They are givers, and it’s about being selfless and wanting to share with others. That is what are entire team is about.”
Carter made an instant impact in the community from the moment she arrived on campus prior to the 2013-14 season.
The senior guard by way of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Trinity Valley Community College regularly supports her fellow Bulldog student-athletes, and she is one of the women’s basketball representatives on MSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
Outside of campus, Carter regularly visits local schools throughout the year. She has been actively involved with Bully’s Book Blitz, an initiative in which MSU student-athletes go to local schools to encourage the importance of reading.
Carter has also volunteered to assist with Starkville schools’ field day events, and she has been a guest speaker for the Starkville Boys & Girls Club.
She joined her teammates the past two seasons and assisted at the city of Starkville’s Travis Outlaw Day.
In 2013 she joined teammate Candace Foster helped carry a cross through Oktibbeha County as part of an initiative by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Mission Mississippi.
This past August she and her teammates had the opportunity to visit Serra Pearson, a Hatley High School student who was battling a rare illness, and present her an autographed basketball and a personalized Mississippi State jersey.
Her fun-loving, giving spirit off the court is a contrast to her hard-nosed, relentless effort on the floor.
An injury has limited Carter to one game this season following a stellar junior campaign that saw her claim 78 steals, fourth most in the Southeastern Conference, and 10th-most in MSU history.
Carter averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds as MSU finished 22-14 and advanced to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals in the team’s first postseason appearance since 2010.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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