STARKVILLE — Confidence has been an elusive quality Ketara Chapel has tried to corral to be a consistent contributor for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.
In some stretches — like last season in MSU’s run to the Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament championship — Chapel has showcased the inside-outside game and skill set to be one of the most effective forwards in the Southeastern Conference. In other stretches, though, Chapel has been a non-factor and has failed to assert herself, especially on offense.
If Chapel’s performance Sunday is any indication, she might be ready to leave those inconsistent ways in the past.
Chapel matched her career high with 19 points to lead four players in double figures in No. 7 MSU’s 80-55 victory against Arkansas before a crowd of 5,712 at Humphrey Coliseum.
The sixth-largest crowd in program history watched as Chapel went 7 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line in 32 minutes. She also grabbed five rebounds, had two assists, and made one steal to help make up for the absence of junior forward Breanna Richardson, who missed the game with a concussion.
Chapel’s 19-point effort matched her output against No. 16 West Virginia in a 74-61 victory in the semifinals of the WNIT. Chapel backed that effort up with 17 points and six rebounds in a victory against Western Kentucky in the WNIT title game.
But Chapel might have delivered an even better performance against Arkansas (6-10, 1-2 Southeastern Conference), at least according to one fan.
“This is the best game of her career,” said the fan, who was sitting at courtside. “Ketara is playing lights out.”
When asked if her showing against Arkansas compared to West Virginia, or if it was the best game of her MSU career, Chapel smiled and said, laughing, “Well, we shall see moving on.”
Chapel played some of her best ball when MSU (16-1, 3-0) needed it the most to extend its winning streak to 11 games. After MSU pushed its 41-31 halftime lead to 16 points twice in the third quarter, Arkansas whittled the deficit to 48-40 on a drive by Kelsey Brooks with 2 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the stanza. But Chapel responded following two free throws by Dominique Dillingham (16 points, six rebounds, five assists) by scoring on a nifty up-and-under move against Jessica Jackson on the left block. She then fed Chinwe Okorie (12 points, seven rebounds, three steals) for a jump shot that banked in off the glass. To complete the trifecta, Chapel overplayed Jackson on the right block and made a steal.
“Knowing you have teammates that trust in you, that is the big thing,” Chapel said. “Knowing they trust me with the ball, it helps a lot with my confidence.”
Chapel showed that confidence in the fourth quarter when she scored six-straight points to help the Bulldogs seal the deal. Four of the points came on jump shots, including one that nearly went for a 3-pointer. Chapel didn’t hesitate on either jumper, which was a great sign for a player who has looked uncertain at times on offense.
“When she is aggressive, it is hard to stop her,” Dillingham said. “I see it in practice all of the time. She is aggressive and she makes shots, so I am very confident in her. When said plays good, we all play good, too, and it helps us all as a team.”
Schaefer spoke with Chapel and sophomore point guard Morgan William in December in an effort to get them to play bigger roles. The conversations worked with both players, as Chapel scored in double figures in four-straight games (Southern Mississippi, Florida Gulf Coast, Western Michigan, and SMU), while William has scored in double figures in five of the last nine games.
But Chapel slipped following the run of games she had 54 points, scoring 16 points in the last four games. The latest stretch was similar to the first eight games of the season in which Chapel scored only 24 points. Schaefer said he didn’t speak to Chapel again because he wasn’t concerned about her lack of aggressiveness, but he admitted he liked the energy and assertiveness Chapel showed against Arkansas.
“I am really proud of her,” Schaefer said. “She continues to work and get better. The first two years, this is the time of year where she has kind of disappeared a little bit, and I think she is really embracing the opportunity to continue to stay in the role she is in and getting better.”
Schaefer was equally impressed by Chapel’s work guarding Jackson, a preseason first-team All-SEC pick. Even though Jackson had a game-high 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting, Chapel tried to stay in front of her and attempted to negate Jackson’s two-inch height advantage.
Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes said MSU’s pressure didn’t bother his team, but he said his squad was “way too careless” in the halfcourt. He said his team’s inexperience — four first-year players, including three freshmen in the backcourt — had a lot to do with his team’s 23 turnovers, which matched a season high, and led to 28 points for the Bulldogs.
Still, Dykes felt the squad took a “good step forward.” It was coming off an 85-32 loss at No. 2 South Carolina and a 67-61 win Thursday against No. 13 Texas A&M.
Victoria Vivians had 11 of her 13 points in the first quarter, but Dykes said MSU is a lot more than one player. He praised Chapel and William for their play, and said the Bulldogs also have players who can come off the bench and contribute.
“I know (Vivians) leads them in scoring, but they have other players besides her, and other kids stepped up today,” said Dykes, who has the fifth-youngest team in terms of returning scholarship players under the current head coach. “We knew (Chapel) was a 15-foot shooter and a driver, and she made her shots today. That’s why I say it is not just about Vivians. She is good, but Chapel is good, the little point guard is good. They have shooters off the bench. His daughter (Blair Schaefer) can knock down a three.”
Schaefer said Chapel “has a different look to her right now,” which could be a promising sign as MSU moves into the heart of its SEC schedule. In Schaefer’s system, the four player, or point four, as he calls it, has to make a lot of decisions in the offense. He said the importance of that position is magnified by the presence of so many quality players at the same position in the SEC. Without Richardson on Sunday, MSU needed Chapel to play 31 or more minutes for the fifth time this season. Richardson suffered the injury Thursday after she fell going for a rebound in a 60-45 victory against Auburn at Humphrey Coliseum. LaKaris Salter didn’t score in eight minutes and helped fill the void left by Richardson.
“I have a lot of confidence in (Ketara),” Schaefer said. “The fact that she goes 7-for-8 (from the field) and 5 of 5 from the line, that talks about her aggressiveness. To see her play the way she is playing again, we need that.
“She has that confident look to her. If you leave her open, she is going to knock down a shot. She is confident in her shot.”
Schaefer said he has noticed a change in Chapel’s demeanor since his talk with her. While he said her overall aggressiveness was good in all of the stretches, he said Chapel looked like she was still trying to find her place in the offense. He said she has responded by being more aggressive looking for her shot.
Chapel said she was still figuring out her role early in the season and trying to share the ball with her teammates. Those sentiments were reflected in the statistics, as she went scoreless and didn’t attempt a shot in three of the Bulldogs’ first eight games. But Chapel said she has a better understanding of what she needs to do to help MSU play to its potential.
“My confidence has went up (since the start of the season),” Chapel said.
That’s a great sign for Schaefer, whose team is about to enter one of its toughest stretches. MSU will play at 7 p.m. Thursday at Missouri, which was ranked No. 20 entering the week before it lost to Tennessee, beat Georgia, and lost to South Carolina. It will play host to Ole Miss at 6 p.m. Monday (SEC Network) at Humphrey Coliseum and then go to Georgia before returning home to play host to No. 2 South Carolina and No. 12 Tennessee.
That’s why efforts like the one Chapel delivered — evenif it wasn’t the best game of her career — will be crucial in the next few months.
“If we are going to be as good as everybody thinks we are right now, this isn’t about one player,” Schaefer said. “The one game we lost (a 53-47 decision on Dec. 2 at Texas), I’d love to have that one back and do it again because we certainly are not one- or two-dimensional right now. We are multi-dimensional right now, and I think that makes us so hard to defend.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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