STARKVILLE — The name-your-score portion of the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s 2014-15 schedule is over.
But that wasn’t why coach Vic Schaefer looked forlorn following his No. 17 MSU’s 83-26 victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night before a crowd of 2,955 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Instead, the Bulldogs’ third-year head coach was more concerned about his team’s inconsistencies and how those “little things” were going to add up and prove troublesome starting at 3 p.m. Friday (SEC Network +) when MSU plays host to No. 19 Georgia at Humphrey Coliseum.
“Twenty-two turnovers tonight is not acceptable. That is really concerning,” Schaefer said. “Twelve steals for them is very concerning. Fifteen offensive rebounds for them is very concerning. These are all trends. They are all things we have been trending toward the past four or five ballgames. I have to coach better and teach better.”
Despite the statistics Schaefer highlighted, MSU (15-0) held Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-9) to 9 of 59 from the field (15.3 percent). Nine field goals is the fewest MSU has allowed in a game this season. The shooting percentage also is the lowest mark for an opponent in MSU’s history. It came on an evening in which the Bulldogs forced 33 turnovers, marking the fifth time it has hit 30 or more this season.
On the flip side, 12 of the 13 Bulldogs who played scored, led by Victoria Vivians (16 points, nine rebounds), Breanna Richardson (14, eight), and Kendra Grant (12, four). Martha Alwal added a season-high five blocked shots, and Jerica James had six assists, which was one shy of her best.
As a team, MSU had 17 steals, marking the 10th time this season it has reached double digits this season. The Bulldogs held the Golden Lions to a season-low point total and recorded their sixth game in a row they have held an opponent to less than 30-percent shooting in at least one half. The fact that MSU did it in both halves Monday night didn’t provide any solace for Schaefer, whose team climbed two spots in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll earlier in the day.
“The grind starts now,” Schaefer said. “The attention to detail and the little things we keep preaching to these kids are fixin’ to really become a focus every night. You probably can’t get away with a lot of the things we got away with tonight these next 75 days.”
The victory allowed MSU to match the 1999-00 team as the only other squad in program history to go undefeated in non-conference play. It also left MSU as one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division I. South Carolina, Texas, and Princeton are the other teams that haven’t lost as 2015 approaches.
Schaefer said MSU has had its good stretches this month, particularly in a span of six games in 11 days in which it traveled to Lafayette, Louisiana, and to Las Vegas. The Christmas break proved a respite for the Bulldogs, who came out with a lot of energy against the Golden Lions and used a 17-0 run early in the first half to erase their only deficit.
But as well as MSU clicked early thanks to 3-pointers by James and Vivians and 10 first-half points by Grant, it couldn’t keep up the pace. The Bulldogs also didn’t execute and committed 22 turnovers, which matched the second-highest total in a game this season. Part of that might have been the fact Schaefer substituted liberally. Only four players logged 20 or more minutes.
Still, the veteran coach looked and sounded disappointed following a game in which MSU could have named the score.
“We will do some things in bunches, but we have some things to work on for consistency,” Schaefer said. “It is good to get Martha kind of back in the flow, but you take your best rebounder off the floor — Chinwe (Okorie) – when you put Martha in. Martha should be your best rebounder, but Chinwe has been our best offensive rebounder. We got 13 offensive tonight and they got 15. I know they are missing a bunch of shots, but that is beside the point.
“The one-and-one theory we live by, we have to do a better job of that.”
Senior guard Savannah Carter was the only Bulldog not to play. Schaefer said Carter continues to suffer discomfort in her legs from shin splints. He said Carter didn’t feel comfortable to go Monday night, and said it likely would be a day-to-day determination if Carter would be able to practice or play in a game.
The bright side of the equation might have been Grant, who was 5 of 8 from the field and reached double figures for the third time in 11 games. Richardson also delivered a scoring punch and showed she is capable of hitting from distance by going 2 of 2 from 3-point range.
The down side was Ketara Chapel, who started at forward, scored only two points and had four turnovers in 12 minutes. Richardson also had three turnovers in 23 minutes, while freshman point guard Morgan William countered four assists with four turnovers.
Despite all of the positives and negatives, the players said they believe the team is ready to take the next step and tackle the “monster,” a term Schaefer affectionately uses to describe SEC play.
“I feel Friday is the most fun I have ever had is going to be that game,” James said. “You start the new season, and it is what we have been looking forward to. Like coach said, we got beat bad (77-48 on March 2, 2014, in Athens, Georgia) last year. Them coming to Starkville, we should play with a chip on our shoulder, so I am looking forward to getting a win and starting SEC play off pretty good.”
Said Grant, “I think how we have been playing the games before conference play, we have learned a lot about ourselves, each other, chemistry wise. With the depth we have, yeah we’re young, but we know how to play with each other. It shows in practice, too. It is just taking what we do in practice — because we look really good in practice — and taking it to the games.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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