BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The next step.
The next seven months will be filled with ways designed to help the Mississippi State women’s basketball team reach that goal.
Questions will be asked. Film will be watched. Players will be pushed to dig deeper to improve.
Coaches throughout the country will do the same thing. Whether it is at South Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, or Maryland, where seasons ended earlier than many expected, or at MSU, where a record-setting campaign ended with the slam of a door, the planning for the 2016-17 season already has started.
Until then, the women’s college basketball world could have three more games to see one of the best teams in action. No. 1 seed Connecticut proved that Saturday with a 98-38 victory against No. 5 seed MSU in the Sweet 16 at Webster Bank Arena. The 60-point margin of victory was the largest in the history of the NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16 or later.
For UConn, the next step will be to complete a run to a record 11th national title. In the process, the Huskies would stretch their winning streak to 75 games. They also would send Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck out as the winningest group of seniors in NCAA history with 151 wins. That mark would break the record of 150 wins set by Maya Moore and Lorin Dixon.
For MSU, the challenge will be to use the loss as a lesson, not a forgettable moment in time on ESPN. UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey has faced plenty of obstacles in her 31 seasons with the Huskies. She said a lot can be gained if the Bulldogs use the experience in the right way.
“The challenge is to get better,” Dailey said. “The challenge is to use this experience in the offseason to get better at the things that were exposed today.”
UConn blitzed MSU with a high-octane transition game, the powerful inside-outside tandem of Stewart and Tuck, and an ultra-quick and experienced point guard in Jefferson. They also did it with skilled players who had a counter for every defensive move MSU tried and a stifling defense that dared the Bulldogs to get to the rim.
UConn did it all with the confidence that comes from championships and experience. Dailey said the Huskies also rely on an attitude that they won’t be denied to reach such heights of excellence.
“I think you have to be willing to be realistic about what your strengths and weaknesses are as a player,” Dailey said. “This is for players in general and say this is what I do well and this is what I need to work on, and then work on those things.”
Dailey said the Huskies have that mind-set 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It pushes them to relish the challenges of first-time opponents like MSU and to forge on where others fail. On Friday, UConn watched as No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Notre Dame and No. 3 seeds Kentucky, in Lexington, Kentucky, and Ohio State had their seasons end in upsets. The Huskies used those games as motivation and raced to a 13-0 lead against the Bulldogs and never looked back.
As easy as the game looked at times for UConn, Dailey said getting to that point has been a process. She said it starts when players can look at themselves in the mirror and acknowledge they need to improve. Once that “buy-in” happens, Dailey said, that’s when a team can take the next step.
“Until they buy into it nothing is going to change,” Dailey said. “If you have someone that needs to get in better shape, they are not going to do that unless they finally realize I need to get in better shape or I can’t get up and down the court. They have to buy into that. Once they do, the rest of it is easy, once they understand what they need to work on.”
Dailey said former UConn All-America center Stefanie Dolson learned that lesson early in her career in a loss at Stanford. Dailey remembers talking to Dolson on the bench and telling her, ‘You’re not the reason we lost, but if you want to play this kind of game and be good (you have to get better).’ She bought into it and met with trainer, strength coach, and nutritionist and she did it.
“It is a matter of how much you’re willing to do to get where you want to go. I think everybody is different. Everyone finds it or they’re willing to find it at their own pace. It is not the same process for everyone. Some kids find it after the leave college and then they go, ‘Oh, OK.’ Then they say, ‘If I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently.’ I think it is a process, but if you have someone who is highly motivated not only by extrinsic things but internally they are motivated, I think it is a much easier path for them to figure it out.”
There’s no question MSU made strides this season. The Bulldogs matched a program record with 11 Southeastern Conference regular-season wins and tied with Texas A&M for second place in the league. MSU also advanced to the SEC tournament championship game for the second time in its history. Victories against Chattanooga and Michigan State in the program’s first opportunity to play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament helped it set a single-season record for victories (28).
But is that enough for MSU? It lost twice to SEC regular-season and tournament champion South Carolina. MSU also suffered close losses to Texas A&M and Texas and an embarrassing home lose to Kentucky.
All of the results in 2015-16 suggest MSU could start next season in the top 10. The Bulldogs return all but one player — Sherise Williams — and are counting on the additions of Oklahoma State transfer Roshunda Johnson and prep standout Jacaira “Iggy” Allen to provide different dimensions.
Dailey said MSU’s success will force them to make another change.
“This year, they were maybe viewed more as a surprise team. Next year, they’re going to be viewed as a team that should be good,” Dailey said. “Dealing with the hunted vs. the hunter is very different. It is a mentality you have to have. To be honest, it is easier to have that mentality after a loss than to have it after a win.”
That’s where the next step comes in. Dailey said players can’t be allowed to practice only on their strengths. She understands it is common nature for athletes to enjoy practicing aspects of their games they do well. As a golfer, she said she falls into that category because she likes practicing her driving because she is good at it, but she doesn’t want to practice her short game because she said it is “horrendous.”
As much as it might not want to, MSU has to watch the game against UConn again and again and see where it can improve. It then has to put a plan into action that will help it take the next step. It can be done. UConn might not be the ultimate measuring stick in 2016-17 or beyond, but there will be a top dog that will dare others to follow it. The Bulldogs have to find a way to get better so they can have more ways to beat that top dog to take the next step.
“It is just hard work and dedication,” Williams said after the season-ending loss to UConn. “Next year, they only lose one person but they are gaining a good player (Johnson), too. They will basically have the same core team. As long as they work hard, they can accomplish anything.
“I don’t think it is that big of a gap. As long as they work hard and put their heart and soul into it, they should be fine.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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