STARKVILLE — Savannah Carter looks ready for business.
Decked out in her home white jersey, Carter’s arms are crossed across her chest and her gaze is fixed forward in the picture that adorns the cover of the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s 2014-15 media guide.
Fans who watched Carter play for the Bulldogs last season know what she can do when she gets locked in on you like that. At 5-foot-9, the transfer from Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College led the Bulldogs in steals (78) and showed in her first season that she epitomized MSU coach Vic Schaefer’s gritty, hard-nosed style of play.
On Monday, fans had their first opportunity to see Carter nearly back at that form, even if it was in a cameo role in No. 21 MSU’s 104-41 victory against Mississippi Valley State before a crowd of 3,011 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Freshman guard Blair Schaefer scored a career-high 12 points and had a career-best five assists to lead six players in double figures on a night in which MSU (11-0) matched the best start in program history. MSU will try to eclipse that mark at 11 a.m. Wednesday when it plays at Louisiana Lafayette.
“I think it really showed our depth on our team, and that whenever opportunity presents itself we have people ready to step up and keep what is going on flowing and not have any hiccups,” Schaefer said. “We have a really good team chemistry right now, and no matter who is at what position we have people willing to step up and show I can do what you need me to do whenever you need me to do it.”
Carter hopes to step back into the lineup and be one of 14 players Vic Schaefer can call on. A year ago, she started 34 of 36 games and provided a defensive presence on a team that went 22-14 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. This season, with classmates Martha Alwal, Kendra Grant, and Jerica James, Carter was expected to provide leadership and to help set the tone for a recruiting class that was ranked 20th in the nation.
Instead, shin splints forced Carter to be a cheerleader early in the season. She played five minutes in MSU’s second game of the season, a 93-83 victory against Arkansas State in the Preseason WNIT, but she had four turnovers and didn’t score. On Monday, Carter said all of the turnovers were probably on traveling calls on a night in which she appeared to try to do everything too quickly in an attempt to make up for lost time.
Against MVSU (2-7), Carter looked back to her old self. She attacked the rim, she showed a solid mid-range game when she hit a 15-foot jump shot for her only basket, and she had both of her two steals in six minutes in the first half. She only played three more minutes in the second half and added an assist to Chinwe Okorie (11 points, eight rebounds) off a drive, but she moved well and appeared to be close to being back to form.
The only difference is Carter has added a white, cut-off sock and a black compression sleeve over it on her left calf that keeps pressure on her leg to keep the swelling down. She said after the game that she was a little sore, but that she is working into shape. She said she tries not to think about the discomfort during the games and is learning how to work through it in practice.
“I have really just changed my mind-set toward not focusing on the pain in my leg and just play, and when that happens I am able to just play,” Carter said. “I pay for it afterward.”
Carter’s role on the team figures to be important as MSU prepares to enter Southeastern Conference play. Following its game Wednesday, MSU will travel to Nevada, where it will play Illinois-Chicago and Miami University in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Saturday and Sunday. It will close the non-conference portion of its schedule against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday, Dec. 29, in Starkville. MSU will play host to Georgia at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, in its SEC opener.
Carter’s return has come at nearly the same time Alwal, who was recovering from back surgery, has worked back into the lineup. Alwal, a first-team All-SEC performer and the league’s co-Defensive Player of the Year last season, had six points, five rebounds, and four blocked shots in 17 minutes in her sixth game of the season. The four blocks helped her reach 270 for her career and pass former Georgia standout Tracy Henderson and move into ninth place on the SEC’s all-time list.
“I really wasn’t focused on that come gametime,” Alwal said. “Blocking shots is just what I do, so it just comes with how I play. I wasn’t worried about it.”
Schaefer, who saw her first extended playing time at point guard, said having Carter and Alwal back gives the Bulldogs an even deeper team and two more weapons everyone can count on.
“It is such a relief,” Schaefer said. “Savannah is a defensive threat in every aspect, and Martha is a defensive threat in every aspect. She really helps us in the paint. We get beat off dribble penetration a lot, and we’re always working on help-side defense. Savannah and Martha, we can always count on them being there. … It is also another positive on the offensive end because they bring so much IQ to our team. It is so fun to play with great players, and I love when our great players come back.”
MSU scored a season-high in the first half in building a 62-23 lead. The total was three shy off the school record for points in a half. The fast start helped the Bulldogs match the 1999-00 and 2008-09 squads for the best start in school history. MSU is one win away from tying the 2004-05 squad for the longest winning streak in program history.
Victoria Vivians, Kendra Grant, and LaKaris Salter had 11 points and Sherise Williams (10) also reached double figures. Dominique Dillingham was the only Bulldog not to score as the team had 13 players score for the third time this season. Morgan William had a season-high seven assists, while Kayla Nevitt had a season-best three steals.
All of those contributions helped coach Schaefer enjoy an evening in which MSU moved one step closer to having all of its pieces back for the first time this season.
“She is close,” Schaefer said of Carter. “She is getting better. I don’t think she is completely pain free, but she is getting close. She has spent a lot of time with Mary (McLendon), our trainer, who has done a tremendous job with her, and our team doctors. Those shins were really bad. Those guys along with Mary have done a terrific job getting that kid back.
“She brings so much energy to our practice. Her motor runs. Her motor and Dom’s motor run at an unbelievable level that we desperately, desperately need. I have missed her.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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