DALLAS
The final hurdle has arrived.
A journey that spanned 17,190 miles in the non-conference schedule and a school-record 13 Southeastern Conference victories will come to an end today when the Mississippi State women’s basketball team (34-4) takes on South Carolina (32-4) at 5 p.m. today in the championship game of the NCAA tournament at American Airlines Center.
MSU and South Carolina are making their first appearances in the national title game. A victory would give the Bulldogs the school’s first national championship in any sport.
“Personally, I’d rather be playing somebody else, to be honest,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said of the SEC rival. “They know us better than anybody. Obviously we feel like we know them. But I’m really proud we have two Southeastern Conference schools in the championship of our sport. That’s really special.”
It’s also extremely special to consider how much progress MSU has made in five seasons to put itself in this position. You only need to look back to last season, when UConn beat MSU 98-38 on its way to its fourth-straight national title.
On Friday, MSU erased the memory of that disappointment with a 66-64 overtime victory against UConn. Junior point guard Morgan William hit a 14-foot jump shot as time expired to end the Huskies’ 111-game winning streak.
Instead of being giddy after pulling the upset, Schaefer said his players were grounded because they know they have unfinished business. Part of it is the team set a goal of winning seven titles this season. The Bulldogs have won four and lost two — the SEC regular-season and tournament titles — with one more to go.
The other part of the unfinished business is beating South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won the last 10 meetings in the series, including a meeting in January in Columbia, South Carolina, and a matchup in the championship game of the SEC tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.
South Carolina also is one of two teams (Kentucky is the other) Schaefer hasn’t beaten in his five seasons as head coach in Starkville.
Schaefer smiled when he was asked two questions about the inability to beat South Carolina. He said the Bulldogs will have to change things from both meetings this season because beating the Gamecocks will be difficult.
“South Carolina’s not going to change,” Schaefer said. “They’re the same great team, coached by the same great coaching staff, and we’re going to have to adapt and change,” Schaefer said. “We’ve talked about that in our locker room numerous times. Hey, here is where we are. What were we when we ended the regular season? Whatever we were we said, ‘Hey, if we’re going to get hot in the NCAA tournament, we’re going to have to change. I think that’s the beauty of this team, is they changed.”
Schaefer also has changed. While he always will love defense and frustrating opponents, the longtime coach has embraced the notion to paying more attention to offense in practice and to winning games in the 80s as opposed to winning them in the 50s.
Better players have a way of loosening coaches up. But there was no way to guarantee Schaefer’s decision to shuffle his starting lineup following the SEC tournament was going to pay off. The move could have affected the Bulldogs’ biggest strength — their depth — and disrupted the chemistry that has helped them win more games each of the last four seasons.
Instead, the success against Troy and DePaul led to even bigger results against Washington and Baylor in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight. The biggest result yet came Friday when MSU upset UConn. The fans in American Airlines Center sensed the possibility and supported the Bulldogs. The atmosphere was electric. MSU controlled the tempo and used its defense to take UConn out of its game plan. All of it set up a wondrous shot by William, who has been on a mission to lead the Bulldogs to their final goal.
“These kids deserve it,” Schaefer said. “They’ve paid such a tremendous price. We practice harder than anybody in the country, I’m quite confident. My kids are tough. They have such an incredible competitive spirit. They’re earned the right to be here.”
Five years ago, playing in the Final Four or for a national title sounded like a dream. Later today, that dream will become reality and the Bulldogs will try to win the school’s first national championship in any team sport.
Few would have believed it was possible five years ago. Today, doubters have become believers and believers have made their way to Dallas to be a part of a season to remember.
In a season filled with so many firsts and records, today is the day the Bulldogs clear the final hurdle.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. You can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.