STARKVILLE — Mississippi State sophomore guard Kayla Nevitt had an extra advantage to work her way into the good graces of coach Vic Schaefer.
“I have watched Kayla play since seventh or eighth grade,” Vic Schaefer said. “She and (Vic’s daughter and Kayla’s MSU teammate) Blair (Schaefer) have played probably a hundred Amateur Athletic Union games together. I know her potential. I have seen it for a long time. I know more about her than any other player I have ever recruited. These nights will be the norm.”
Nevitt scored a career-high 20 points and the second unit provided another dominating performance as No. 8 Mississippi State routed Mississippi Valley State 109-37 Tuesday night before a crowd of 3,566 at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs shot 49.5 percent from the field and easily moved to 3-0. Schaefer wants to see continued improvement from his still relatively young squad.
“When coach says he expects you to be an integral part of the team’s success this year, it means a lot, you take that to heart,” Nevitt said. “You want to go harder in the weight room and on the practice floor — in games, too. That is the motivation. The coaches are putting a tremendous amount of confidence in you, and you really don’t want to let them down.”
After scoring 22 points in a 107-43 victory against Grambling State on Saturday, Victoria Vivians scored all of her 14 points in a seven-minute stretch of the first quarter. By the time that stretch ended, MSU led 31-7 lead after one quarter.
“Our job was to keep the energy up,” said MSU sophomore forward LaKaris Salter, who had 15 points. “When we come in, we need to provide a spark. Our job is to keep the energy level of the team going. We don’t want the fans to sit down. We want to keep everything going.”
For MSU to build on last season’s breakthrough campaign in which it won a school-record 27 games and returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010, Vic Schaefer knows the importance of the bench. To the casual observer, points in a 40-point blowout are irrelevant. To the coaches and players, it’s different.
“We have a job to do, and we take that very seriously,” Nevitt said. “Championship teams have nine or 10 players who can play, so our job is to keep working hard to make sure this team gets to the point. I felt good tonight. The shots were falling early, so I kept going.”
Nevitt was 9 of 16 from the field. She also had four assists and six rebounds in 27 minutes. Salter was 7 of 14 from the field with three rebounds and an assist. Freshman Teaira McCowan had 17 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double, also off the bench.
“I just feel really comfortable right now,” McCowan said. “It’s like suddenly it is all coming together for me. The guard have really helped me out, especially tonight in this game. We have some of the best guards in the league. It’s exciting to be out there with them.”
MSU had 72 bench points and enjoyed a plus-30 rebounding advantage.
“I have two sophomores and a freshman with me (in the postgame press conference),” Vic Schaefer said. “For freshmen and sophomores, this is a different experience. They are excited about being out of school (for Thanksgiving holiday). Meanwhile, I am worried to death about how to win the next game.
“We had a hard practice Monday, maybe the hardest one we have had all season.”
On Monday, MSU moved to No. 8 in The Associated Press Top 25. It is the highest ranking in program history. On Tuesday, the USA Today poll, which is voted on by coaches, had MSU at No. 10. A season-opening five-game homestand also includes Norfolk State at 6 p.m. Friday and Savannah State at 2 p.m. Sunday.
“This is new territory,” Vic Schaefer said. “I want the girls to embrace it. I want them to know what a top-10 team looks like in the classroom, in the weight room, at practice, when they go out around town. I don’t place a major importance on where we are ranked now. I had rather be No. 8 in March. However, it is part of the process of growing the program.
“The girls need to realize No. 8 means some other people out there think you are really good. The job is now to embrace that challenge. The job is to live up to that ranking, do the things you need to do to show you belong.”
Nevitt has felt the encouragement of her coaches since her first day on campus. The words of encouragement from Schaefer came even before that. She hopes more nights like Tuesday night will follow.
“This is a great opportunity,” Nevitt said. “It’s a great opportunity for me, but it is also a great opportunity for all of us. As a team, we have to take this opportunity and run with it.”
n Volleyball team will take on LSU: At Starkville, the Mississippi State volleyball team (15-15, 4-12 Southeastern Conference) will play host to LSU (9-18, 5-11) at 6 tonight at the Newell-Grissom Building. The match will be live-streamed on the SEC Network +.
MSU will try to earn back-to-back conference wins for the first time since 2013 after taking down Georgia in straight sets Sunday. The win was the first for MSU in Athens since 2010 and marked consecutive wins against Georgia for the first time since 2006-07.
A win would give MSU consecutive home wins against LSU for the first time in program history. It also would secure at least a .500 finish to the season, the first since 2006.
“The team is in a really good spot after getting a win at Georgia on Sunday. We’re prepared and excited to finish off this season strong,” MSU coach David McFatrich said. “We’ve been working as hard as ever in practice to prepare for this last stretch and the challenge of facing a good LSU squad is something we embrace.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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