OKLAHOMA CITY — Mike Neighbors has seen Vic Schaefer at work on and off the court, so there was no one better Friday night to assess the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s latest history-making step.
Fueled by a career-high 26 points and six blocked shots by sophomore center Teaira McCowan, second-seeded MSU defeated third-seeded Washington 75-64 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament’s Oklahoma City Regional at Chesapeake Energy Arena to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Neighbors and Schaefer shared a moment prior to the game and an extended moment at midcourt after the final whistle. Schaefer said earlier this week that Neighbors, who he worked with at Arkansas as a member of coach Gary Blair’s staff, is a close friend and one of the few coaches in the business he has on speed dial.
Neighbors feels the same way, as evidenced by his comments in the post-game news conference.
“When you can do what Vic Schaefer did going into the NCAA tournament, put four starters down, you got your team,” said Neighbors, who completed his fourth season at Washington on Friday night. “They have responded. The starters have played great. The subs have come in and did not do anything but what they were doing when they were starters.”
Neighbors went on to say the Bulldogs’ depth played a role in the outcome. MSU had eight players record double-digit minutes. It also had 10 players score. Three of Washington’s players, including Kelsey Plum, the nation’s leading scorer (31.8 points per game), and Chantel Osahor, the nation’s leading rebounder (15.4 per game), played 40 minutes.
Plum had 29 points (10-for-25 shooting), five rebounds, five assists, and four turnovers. Osahor had 17 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and four turnovers.
Ten Huskies were listed in the final boxscore, but three played zero minutes because they entered the game with 26 seconds remaining.
MSU outscored Washington 23-0 off the bench.
“I think he knows his team as well as any coach right now in the country, to be able to push that button, take that type of risk,” Neighbors said.
After the game, Schaefer again downplayed his decision to shuffle his starting lineup and insert Blair Schaefer, Roshunda Johnson, Ketara Chapel, and McCowan in place of Victoria Vivians, Dominique Dillingham, Chinwe Okorie, and Breanna Richardson. He said last week that his second team had been beating his first team in practice with regularity, so it was time to make a change. He reiterated that thought Friday night when asked if he thought the move was a risk, as Neighbors called it.
“I have seen these girls practice every day all day for a while, more than just a season,” Schaefer said. “We have different kids doing it at different times during the game. That is all it is. It’s really not rocket science. These kids can all play.”
To Schaefer’s point, Blair, who is his daughter, Vivians, and Morgan William were part of a top-20 recruiting class that came on the heels of what is now a senior class of Richardson, Chapel, Okorie, and Dillingham that is the program’s all-time winningest class (109-33).
If you factor in Johnson, a transfer from Oklahoma State who was a top-50 recruit, the Bulldogs are one of the nation’s deepest and most experienced teams.
“Those kids can play,” Schaefer said. “I see it every day in practice. It is a confidence level with those kids, but they have earned it.”
Chapel, who started again with William, Schaefer, Johnson, and McCowan, agreed with her coach. She had six points, three rebounds, and an assist in 20 minutes.
“It just shows the depth of our bench and how many great players we have on our bench,” Chapel said. “It doesn’t matter if the starters come off the bench or the bench players start.”
The Bulldogs also earned high praise from Schaefer. Several times this season, and again Friday night, Schaefer has said his squad has struggled on defense. That wasn’t the case against the Huskies, as the Bulldogs held them to their third-lowest shooting percentage (38.7, 24-for-62) of the season. It was the fifth time Washington shot less than 40 percent in a game. The Huskies entered the game eighth in the nation in field goal percentage (47.3) and first in 3-pointers made (349). Washington hit four of its first five 3-pointers in the first quarter but finished 8-for-22 from behind the arc.
“Our kids always have been pretty close,” Schaefer said. “I don’t know that any one thing has happened of late that has brought us closer. That team has been together a long time. There are only two freshmen, so there is a real cohesiveness about that group. They kind of protect each other, look out for each other. That can only help you when you get into a tough, tight ballgame.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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