STARKVILLE — Jerica James laughs when she is asked about what she remembers about recent games against Texas A&M.
As one of the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s three four-year seniors, James doesn’t want to have anything to do with MSU’s 81-33 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 24, 2013. She also winces at the thought of the Bulldogs’ 73-35 loss to the Aggies on Jan. 19, 2014.
The feeling is different this time.
It’s not that James and No. 17 MSU (22-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) are cocky entering their game against No. 14 Texas A&M (18-5, 6-3) at 2 p.m. today (SEC Network) at Humphrey Coliseum. It’s just that James feels this year’s Bulldogs feel like they are better equipped and more ready than at any time in the previous three years to face the Aggies.
“This year is probably less pressure,” James said. “We definitely didn’t have the weapons we have right now playing Texas A&M. … I feel we are relaxed and comfortable. … We have been in a match with them a couple of times, and we know what we have to look forward to.”
James said players and teams don’t forget games like the ones MSU has had against Texas A&M. She said she and four-year senior classmates Martha Alwal and Kendra Grant will take those losses off their minds today and realize the Bulldogs have improved and have worked so hard to climb the ladder in the SEC.
“A few years ago, I probably went in there like, ‘Man, it is going to be a tough one,’ ” James said. “Now I don’t have that feeling.”
James said the Bulldogs’ mind-set has changed since the big losses. She said MSU has the confidence to know it can compete with Texas A&M as long as it does everything it is supposed to. She feels the crowds the Bulldogs have attracted and the fact the team has remained high in the national polls shows people who follow the sport believe, too.
In 2013, MSU won 13 games. Last season, MSU won 22 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. This season, MSU is two wins away from matching the most wins in a season in program history. A 15-0 start, which included a Preseason WNIT championship, and record-setting support at Humphrey Coliseum have fueled the Bulldogs. With two more home games after today’s game, MSU already has eclipsed its season attendance for last season. It is averaging 3,363 fans per game, which is sixth in the SEC, and it has drawn 50,438 fans in 15 home dates.
Today’s game could bolster those figures. Dubbed a “True Maroon” game, fans are encouraged to wear maroon. The game also will feature a special halftime performance by The Kings of the Court, the acrobatic dunk team of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
MSU is coming off a 79-67 loss to Tennessee last week. The Bulldogs had a bye this week and capitalized by taking Monday and Tuesday off. The bye enabled the Bulldogs to consider the fact they trailed the Lady Volunteers by five points with 3 minutes, 17 seconds to play in Knoxville, Tennessee, a place they have never won. The confidence the team gained from that performance wasn’t lost on James, who said MSU needs to do better and to work harder in practice.
Today’s game kicks off a stretch in which MSU’s work will be put to the test. Later this week, MSU will travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to play No. 11 Kentucky at 6 p.m. Thursday. MSU then will play host to Florida and travel to Alabama before closing the regular season with a game at No. 1 South Carolina and a home game against Ole Miss.
MSU’s fortunes against Texas A&M and Kentucky likely will play a large role in determining if it can finish in the top four in the SEC and earn a double bye in the SEC tournament, which will be March 4-8 in North Little Rock, Ark. MSU, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and LSU enter today’s action with three losses.
Schaefer, a 1984 graduate of Texas A&M, also laughed when he was asked about the team’s past two meetings against his former boss, Gary Blair, and the Aggies. He said he his team was “outclassed and outmatched” against Texas A&M two years ago. He said he recalls last year’s game vividly and realizes it wasn’t much better. He hopes this season will be a little different in part because he wants his team to show it has made strides.
“After that first year, we talked in the locker room about change and everybody had to work hard and change their skill set,” Schaefer said. “We had to change the make-up of our roster in terms of skill set and had to go get some help, and I think we have done that in the two recruiting classes since the first year. Between the development of JJ, Kendra, and Martha and the two recruiting classes, I think that probably has been the biggest change in two years since that first season.
“I think we have depth. I think we have quality in our depth. Our team is confident, and rightfully so. I think they felt confident going into Tennessee. I think they feel confident coming out of Tennessee. I have a lot of confidence in this team.”
Schaefer, associate head coach Johnnie Harris, assistant coach Aqua Franklin, director of operations Maryann Baker, and director of scouting/video coordinator Skylar Collins have been responsible for that turnaround. Schaefer said it was “an honor” to work for Blair for nine seasons in College Station, Texas. He also spent six seasons as an assistant and as an associate head coach under Blair at Arkansas. Harris also served on the Texas A&M staff, while Franklin, Baker, and Collins played for the Aggies.
“I learned a lot from him,” Schaefer said. “There is a side of me that wants to make him proud. After working for a guy for 15 years you want to show him, ‘Hey, I learned a lot while I was with you, and we’re successful now because of what we did together and what we learned together.
“There is a side of me that has been disappointed with our inability to compete with them. There also is a side of me that wants to make him proud of what we are doing here at Mississippi State. I know he is going to be really proud of the program because of the atmosphere that is going to be in The Hump. Coach always was tremendous at the marketing side of it. It was always important, from day one, and I know we are going to have a great crowd (today). He is excited for that part of it.”
Schaefer referenced how MSU battled back on the road against Tennessee after falling behind by double digits in the second half. He hopes the timing of the Tennessee game will fortify his team’s attitude entering a pivotal game in the SEC schedule.
“We have been playing well all year,” Schaefer said. “We scored 67 points at Tennessee. I was pretty encouraged by that. We just couldn’t guard them. For whatever reason, they had way too many uncontested jump shots, and they just mauled us inside.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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