DALLAS — Vic Schaefer and his Mississippi State women’s basketball players have been asked about Connecticut for the past three days.
Schaefer and the Bulldogs couldn’t forget or move past their 98-38 loss to the eventual national champion if they wanted to. Schaefer has called the loss — the biggest in the history of the regional semifinals — “embarrassing” and “humbling.” His players have said they have learned how to play every possession at a faster pace and with a higher sense of focus.
The time for talking is over.
At 9 tonight (ESPN2), Schaefer and MSU (33-4) will get a second crack at UConn (36-0) when the teams meet in the national semifinals at American Airlines Center. South Carolina (31-4) and Stanford (32-5) will meet in the first national semifinal at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2). The winners will meet in the championship game at 5 p.m. Sunday (ESPN).
“We’ve got to continue to play how like we’re playing,” Schaefer said. “We’re playing as well as we’re playing all year.”
MSU is coming off a 75-64 victory against Washington and a 94-85 overtime victory against Baylor in the Oklahoma City Regional. The victories pushed the Bulldogs to their first trip to the Final Four in program history.
A year ago, MSU saw its second trip to the Sweet 16 end with a thud in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Schaefer said Thursday he and the players have watched “bits and pieces” of last year’s game against UConn. As much as they have relived getting beat in transition or playing against Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck, the top three picks in the 2016 WNBA draft, Schaefer has stressed the Bulldogs need to get better and to focus on the things they can control. That is why the team returned from the Southeastern Conference tournament and worked on its offense. As a result, MSU has recorded its highest-scoring game (110 against Troy), its fourth-highest scoring game (Baylor), and its fifth-highest scoring game (DePaul).
Schaefer hopes the Bulldogs play with the confidence they showed in those games and don’t play in awe of a program that has won 11 national championships, the most in the sport, and has won a record 111 games in a row.
“We can’t worry about the name on the front of their jersey,” MSU senior Ketara Chapel said. “We’ve just got to go out there and play. They put on their shorts and jerseys just like we do. They’re basketball players just like we are.”
MSU junior point guard Morgan William, who is coming off a career-high 41-point effort against Baylor, said she feels the Bulldogs have grown as a team and are better overall, and better conditioned. She admitted she felt the Bulldogs were “a little timid” to go out there and play against UConn. She said she “feels a different vibe” in the locker room and in practice that the Bulldogs can compete with the Huskies.
When Schaefer was asked if he wanted his players to go into tonight’s game with a swagger that they have won 33 games, they’re hot, and a “deal-with-us” attitude, he said, “I think we can say that just like that in our room. We have to be careful stepping outside and having that type of brashness. I think we do talk about, ‘Hey, we’re playing well.’ If we have four turnovers tomorrow night (like they did against Baylor), we’ll be right there. Take care of the ball. Let’s don’t get caught giving up layups we can’t defend. There are all kinds of things you can talk about, but, again, it is hard to forget.
“There is not a more humbling thing than getting beat (by) 60 knowing you’re going to the WBCA convention the next week and they have asked you to speak about defense to your colleagues. I remember calling (WBCA Executive Director Danielle M. Donehew), the president of the WBCA, and going, ‘Hey Danielle, (sounding sheepish), it is coach Schaefer at Mississippi State. Are you sure you want me to give a presentation at the Final Four about defense? We did just give up 98. That is a humbling deal. At the same time, I think you grow and learn from it. Our team is different.
“We have got to go play. That is it in a nutshell. We just have to go play. If we will go play like we have been playing — we just beat a No. 1 seed. Baylor is pretty good, by the way. They’re really good. They have a lot of really good players. They’re so good they were talking about the UConn-Baylor matchup on Saturday night before we even played them on Sunday. … We have to win the minute, win the hour, and try to win the two hours.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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