Articles by Adam Minichino
Women’s basketball history will be made this season in state
Women’s basketball history will be made twice this week in the state of Mississippi.
From Starkville to Oxford, it’s difficult to deny the enthusiasm surrounding the state’s two biggest programs. At Mississippi State, fourth-year head coach Vic Schaefer has his program at new heights again. On Monday, the Bulldogs climbed one spot to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. The ranking eclipses the team’s previous best of No. 8 last week. At 14-1 and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference, MSU will play host to Auburn at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in its SEC opener at Humphrey Coliseum.
Sisk’s run to rim lifts Rebels
OXFORD — Erika Sisk helped close Tad Smith Coliseum with a kiss Sunday afternoon.
The Oxford native then added to her dash to history with a round of hugs for about 100 of her church friends and fans of the Ole Miss women’s basketball team who were in attendance for the final basketball game at Tad Smith Coliseum.
The only hiccup was Sisk had to pause halfway up the staircase to one of the concourses to sit down and shake out a cramp in her right leg.
MSU women knock off nationally-ranked South Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This is the team Vic Schaefer wants to coach.
Minichino column: Schaefer looking at new approach for team
It’s time for the bear to come out of hibernation.
South Florida quickly becoming power in women’s basketball
There’s a new power emerging in the state of Florida.
MSU women face extremes in final two non-conference games
The finish line is in sight.
In the case of the Mississippi State women’s basketball team, the tape signifies the end of its 14-game non-conference slate. The next-to-last step in that marathon will come at 7 tonight when No. 8 MSU (11-1) plays host to Southeastern Louisiana (1-9) at Humphrey Coliseum. The game, which will be available on SEC Network +, will be MSU’s first since a 72-70 victory against SMU on Monday, Dec. 21, at the Puerto Rico Classic.
Tigers’ Simmons stays focused to have dominating season
MACON — An ankle injury wasn’t going to stop Jeffery Simmons.
After all, this was the season the Noxubee County High School senior was supposed to help his team make history and become the school’s first football team to win back-to-back state titles.
Gandy, Jones help Starkville girls move to 11-0
STARKVILLE — Maturity is a key ingredient to the 2015-16 Starkville High School girls basketball team.
The importance isn’t lost on Starkville coach Kristie Williams and how it applies to two key members of the squad, junior center Kelsey Jones and sophomore guard Tabreea Gandy.
Schaefer wants to see more consistency from No. 8 MSU
Vic Schaefer sounded tired.
After guiding the Mississippi State women’s basketball team to three wins in three days in Puerto Rico, Schaefer was nestled in his seat for the final two-plus hours of a bus ride back to Starkville. But Schaefer had one more task to address before he could exhale and enjoy the holiday break. It didn’t involve anything to do with Christmas shopping, but it might have been more challenging than fighting bargain-hunting shoppers in a packed department store.
Players’ trust in Shorter puts Tigers back on title track
MACON — Jeffery Simmons could sense the frustration in Tyrone Shorter’s voice and in his body language.
Simmons couldn’t help see it and feel it because the Noxubee County High School football team’s losing was affecting him, too.
Losing doesn’t come easily in Macon — let alone a four-game slide that included a loss to rival West Point and an overtime defeat at Class 3A Kemper County — so Shorter had to do something about it. Instead of trying to tackle the burden of ending the streak himself, Shorter opted to lean on Simmons and other members of his senior class. The message was simple: Find a way to help the Tigers get past the differences that were holding them back and get things back on track.
Small Schools All-Area Player of Year: Hill leaves legacy at Hebron Christian
PHEBA — Landon Hill has chameleon-like tendencies.
Small Schools All-Area Coach of Year: Craven leads by example at Oak Hill Academy
WEST POINT — Chris Craven isn’t a selfish or a boastful man.
MSU women prepare for difficult road trip
STARKVILLE — The holiday season blitz won’t get any easier this weekend for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.
Balanced scoring effort leads No. 9 MSU
STARKVILLE — The good lead vocalist sounds a lot better with a quality ensemble.
Add in a little harmony from a group of fine-tuned backup singers and you can produce some sweet music.
Caledonia’s Benson signs with Meridian C.C.
CALEDONIA — Briann Benson plays with a sense of calm when she is on the soccer field.
The noise from the crowd doesn’t matter. Benson can tune it out.
Disruptive play from a defender or an opposing team? That’s fine, too, because the Caledonia High School senior midfielder has refined her touch on the ball to escape the most perilous situations.
Vivians’ fast start fuels No. 9 MSU
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer takes time to pinpoint the highlights and lowlights after every game.
It usually takes Schaefer a few minutes to find the highlights (circles) and lowlights (squares) on the stat sheet prior to his post-game news conference.
But as much as Schaefer is into numbers and research and charting tendencies, he hasn’t had time to mark up the latest Southeastern Conference stats to see how his team compares to the rest of the league.
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