STARKVILLE — Life is good for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.
Coach Vic Schaefer’s team is one of eight in Division I — and the only one in the Southeastern Conference — that is undefeated as the schedule prepares to turn to 2017 and the beginning of league play.
Perched at a program-best No. 5 in The Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches polls, MSU (13-0) has traveled 17,190 miles and played only two games at home, the fewest of any team in the national rankings. The Bulldogs also rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring margin (ninth, 25.2 points per game) and turnover margin (ninth, 8.08), and are shooting a program-best 47.3 percent in Schaefer’s five seasons in Starkville.
But Schaefer wasn’t entirely pleased with his team’s latest effort, a 90-47 victory against Alabama State on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum. He opened his post-game remarks by saying he couldn’t recall the last time his team scored 90 points, won by 43, and didn’t “play very good.”
To be fair, MSU was coming off a 76-72 victory against USC on Sunday in Los Angeles. It flew back to Starkville on Monday and had a short practice that day to prepare for its first game at home in a month. The Bulldogs also had to battle the knowledge that they were playing their final game before a five-day break for Christmas. Still, Schaefer wants to find a way to get his players more engaged from the opening tap because he knows the next phase of the schedule begins after MSU’s final non-conference game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Northwestern State at Humphrey Coliseum. MSU will kick off Southeastern Conference play at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1 (SEC Network), against LSU at the Hump.
“We really were lethargic in the first quarter, really in the first half,” Schaefer said.
MSU has been able to overcome its ups and downs with an offense that is scoring 80.1 points per game, which ranks second in the SEC (26th nationally). The field goal shooting percentage is 6.7 percent better than the Bulldogs’ highest mark (40.6) in Schaefer’s second season in Starkville. MSU’s shooting percentage figures to slip a little bit once SEC play begins considering it shot 42.8 percent in 14 non-conference games last season and 38 percent in 16 SEC games en route to a program-best 28 victories and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
But that isn’t a given because MSU has played its toughest non-conference schedule in Schaefer’s five seasons with the program. Prior to the game against Alabama State, MSU had a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of No. 4. The NCAA tournament selection committee uses RPI as a factor to compare teams when filling its 64-team field. The victory against Alabama State dropped MSU only one spot to No. 5 in the NCAA’s RPI.
One area Schaefer will target for improvement is defense, which is a little surprising considering the Bulldogs’ play on that end of the court has become their calling card in their climb into the national spotlight. Opponents have shot better than 40 percent from the field only one time — 40.6 percent in 2013-14 — in Schaefer’s first four seasons in Starkville. This season, MSU is 28th nationally in scoring defense (54.8 ppg.), but its field goal percentage defense (40.8) is 233rd in the country. That isn’t acceptable for a coach who has built his reputation as the “Secretary of Defense.”
The return of senior guard Dominique Dillingham figures to help MSU improve those statistics. Dillingham has missed the last six games after having knee surgery. Schaefer said Tuesday he expected to have Dillingham, who is regarded as the team’s best defensive player, back to play against Alabama State. He said he isn’t sure if she will be ready to go against Northwestern State.
MSU has made up Dillingham’s absence with a balanced attack. Junior Victoria Vivians leads MSU in scoring at 15.8 ppg. Junior Morgan William is second in scoring at 11.4 ppg. She leads the team in assists (49) and steals (25) and is tied with Dillingham for the most minutes per game (26.6). She also is shooting 53.1 percent from the field, which is a big reason why MSU is shooting so well. Senior Chinwe Okorie (58.2 percent) is another key contributor to the Bulldogs’ improved field goal percentage. Add in junior transfer Roshunda Johnson, who is shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from 3-point range, and junior Blair Schaefer, who is shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range, and it is easy to see why the Bulldogs are 22nd nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (38.1).
Bigger contributions from freshmen Ameshya Williams, who has a career-high 12 points against Alabama State, and Jacaira “Iggy” Allen, who has been battling a hip injury, should give Schaefer even more options once SEC play begins. With one more non-conference game remaining, MSU has a chance to get off to its second-best start in program history. MSU won its first 18 games in 2014-15 en route to a 27-win season and a return to the NCAA tournament.
This season, MSU has even higher aspirations. Schaefer has said repeatedly in the first two months that he wants his players to “live” the experience of being ranked in the top 10. After the team ran through what Schaefer described as a “gauntlet” that saw it play games in six states, the Bulldogs appear to be ready to meet those expectations.
“They’re a confident group, and I am pretty confident in them as well,” Schaefer said. “I think our kids have a tremendous level of confidence. I think they feel like in any ballgame that when it gets down to crunch time it is winning time, and we have kids who want to step up and make plays.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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