Coaches savor every win.
That’s why it’s difficult for Vic Schaefer to pick one he would call the best, even if his Mississippi State women’s basketball team has played only eight games.
The dilemma Schaefer faces is understandable considering MSU (8-0) has played seven games away from the comfortable confines of Humphrey Coliseum. The game MSU did play at home — a 79-68 victory against then-No. 8 Texas — ranks with a victory against Oregon in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu.
The other game that deserves a spot at the top is an 85-81 overtime victory against Iowa State on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. MSU rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit and a seven-point hole with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining to end Iowa State’s 96-game winning streak in regular-season non-conference home games.
Factor in that MSU was playing without senior guard and leader Dominique Dillingham (knee surgery) and you almost get the feeling Schaefer could be swayed into saying Iowa State is his team’s best win of the season.
“It makes it even more impressive in that we were able to do it without a senior and without a kid who does all of the little things we value,” Schaefer said Monday. “In that regard, it certainly makes that victory more impressive, especially considering it was on the road at a place they don’t lose at home.”
MSU used the come-from-behind victory and South Carolina’s loss to Duke to climb one spot to No. 5 in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll, which was released Monday. The ranking is a new high for a program that last week achieved the same feat with a No. 6 ranking.
MSU also earned a program-best ranking of No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches poll last week. That poll is released today.
The Bulldogs will have today to work on individual skills and to watch film while Schaefer is out recruiting. The team will return to practice Wednesday to prepare for its next game against Southern Mississippi at 2 p.m. Saturday in Hattiesburg.
Schaefer said he expects Dillingham back in practice later in the week “doing a little bit.” He said Dillingham opted for the knee surgery to avoid a potential flare up later in the season. He said she shouldn’t be out too long and that she was going to need the surgery at some point this season. He said the timing was ideal at a point in the season when MSU plays two games in a stretch of 12 days. MSU will play Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Arkansas-Little Rock before playing SMU on Friday, Dec. 16, in Los Angeles.
The Bulldogs used a balanced effort against the Cyclones to make up for Dillingham’s absence. Schaefer said MSU needed all of the contributions it received from forwards Breanna Richardson, Ketara Chapel, and Victoria Vivians, guards Blair Schaefer, Morgan William, and Roshunda Johnson, and center Chinwe Okorie to rally in one of the nation’s toughest places to play against a team that had a week to prepare to play the game.
“We just had a lot of kids do a lot of great things, but that is what it takes,” Schaefer said. “It takes everybody doing a little bit, and I could go through the whole team and say she did this and she did that.”
Schaefer praised Chapel for making two steals that led to big baskets. Chapel converted the first one, while the second one led to a 3-pointer by William that cut Iowa State’s lead to two points. He also credited his daughter, Blair, for playing 25 minutes and not shying away from contact even though she broke her nose during the team’s three-game trip to Hawaii. He said Blair hit two big 3-pointers and then took a charge to help fuel the Bulldogs’ comeback.
The list goes on. Coach Schaefer said Johnson delivered timely drives to the basket after he felt she settled for jump shots in the first half. Her biggest shot was a 3-pointer that tied the game late in regulation and helped force overtime.
Schaefer said William was a different player in the second half after he said Iowa State’s Jadda Buckley had the better of the matchup in the first 20 minutes.
“I thought her whole presence in the second half was completely night and day from the first half,” Schaefer said. “Her teammates saw that and got on her back and let her lead them to victory. She had a tremendous court presence and an air about her. She also stayed after it.”
William finished with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. The junior point guard also was 9 of 12 from the free-throw line. She added five assists and two steals and overcame seven turnovers in a 38-minute effort.
Four other players — Vivians (16 points), Johnson (15), Richardson (10), and Okorie (10) — also scored in double figures in a game that saw eight of the 10 Bulldogs who played log 15 or more minutes.
Schaefer agreed that the balance and contributions from so many players supported the optimism many had about MSU in the preseason. Even with five returning starters, though, MSU latest result could be seen as a statement victory that signals it has embraced the expectations and top-10 rankings. Schaefer hopes that is the case because he said the Bulldogs still are figuring out rotations and building chemistry and have plenty of room to grow.
“It can certainly be (a mile marker to gauge progress),” Schaefer said. “It would be presumptive to say that right now, so we’ll see how it plays out this year and we’ll see how the players respond. This provides a basis and a fundamental foundation for when we do get in some tough situations, like when you’re down 12 points to Tennessee with 10 minutes to go (like last season in a come-from-behind win), or you’re down seven (to Iowa State) with a minute and 20 left. I think your kids can draw from that and understand you’re never out of a game and that you have to keep fighting and keep competing. That is the thing I kept telling them through the whole second half. Keep competing. Stay after it. You never know what can happen.”
Still, Schaefer wasn’t ready to call the game against Iowa State his team’s best win. He highlighted the victory against Texas, which has lost to South Carolina, Connecticut, and Stanford, and said the Longhorns still are figuring out how to replace starters from last season and sorting out their chemistry. He also praised Oregon and said the Ducks likely will be a force to contend with in the Pacific-12 Conference.
MSU also has tests to come in its six remaining non-conference games, so a “best win” could come from that group before MSU plays host to LSU at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in its Southeastern Conference opener.
There is no telling how high MSU can go if it continues to pile on victories. Regardless of the rankings and which win is his team’s best, Schaefer wants the Bulldogs to have the same mind-set they showed down the stretch against the Cyclones. He feels confident that attitude will give MSU an opportunity to earn a lot more bests this season.
“Our kids showed a lot of that grit and toughness I pride myself on and I pride my team on,” Schaefer said. “I talked to them (Monday) about convenience. Playing on the road, it is not about being comfortable or it being convenient. It is about toughness and being competitive. Being competitive is not a sometimes thing or a convenience thing. Either you are or you are not. You have to want to be in that huddle down seven with a minute 20 left. Being competitive is not a sometimes thing, and I thought we had some kids really step up and want to be in that environment. … I was really pleased we had some kids really step up and want to be in that environment.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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