STARKVILLE — Defense always will be at the core of any team Vic Schaefer coaches.
Schaefer has built a reputation on his prowess as a defensive coach in stops at Arkansas and at Texas A&M, so he knows how to shut opponents down and what it takes on that end of the floor to win a national championship.
Mississippi State’s fourth-year women’s basketball head coach also knows a little something about offense. But 28 games into the season, Schaefer realizes it’s probably too late to change the identity of the 2015-16 Bulldogs. As much as Schaefer would love to press more and for his guards to push tempo for 40 minutes, injuries and depth at the position have limited the team’s ability to do that.
But that doesn’t mean Schaefer is going to stop trying.
A little more than a month ago, Schaefer suggested he was willing to cut into the practice time he usually dedicates to fundamentals and defense to give his players more time to work on offense. Schaefer has stuck to his word, as the Bulldogs have shaved about 20 minutes off their usual routine to do more shooting and to get more repetitions in half-court offense. He hopes that continued work will pay off at 7 tonight when No. 16 MSU (22-6, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) takes on Vanderbilt (15-12, 4-10) at Memorial Gymnasium.
The game can be seen on SEC Network +. The SEC Network will air portions of the game as part of a special SEC Network Women’s Basketball Whip Around program. WMXU-FM (106.1) will broadcast the game locally.
MSU is coming off a 60-51 victory against Ole Miss on Sunday at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs shot 51.1 percent from the field and limited the Rebels to 26.6 percent shooting. Those percentages are at the heart of the challenge facing MSU the rest of the season. Wins in both games secure at least a third-place finish in the SEC and wrap up a double bye for the SEC tournament, which starts Wednesday in Jacksonville, Florida. If MSU beats Vanderbilt and Alabama on Sunday in Starkville, it would need Texas A&M to lose at Auburn and to Kentucky to move into the No. 2 spot in the league.
MSU’s shooting percentage against Ole Miss was the eighth time this season it has shot 45 percent or better from the field. On the flip side, the Bulldogs have held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting 15 times, including seven times since a victory against then-No. 20 South Florida on Dec. 30 in Jacksonville, Florida.
All told, MSU is shooting 40.4 percent overall, which is 10th in the SEC, and 37.4 percent (10th) in SEC games. Since Schaefer said he was considering spending more practice time on offense, MSU is shooting 37.2 percent in its last eight games. The Bulldogs are 5-3 in that stretch.
Schaefer said he shows his players the good and the bad when they review games. He said the Bulldogs are getting better shots for shooters like Vivians, junior Dominique Dillingham, and post players like Chinwe Okorie and Teaira McCowan. The trick now is to have the players get into the gym more and develop more consistency to improve their shooting percentages.
“It comes down to execution and getting the shots we want at the sports we want them from,” Schaefer said.
Sophomore point guard Morgan William said Schaefer has been encouraging the players to do a better job of reading defenses to figure out to make the play that has been called work. She said the Bulldogs have been spending more time in practice on offense, and she feels she and her teammates are getting better.
“We have to read the defense and make sure we don’t slip up,” William said. “Our chemistry has gotten better on offense, and in practice we have been working more on offense. We have had some better shots and better screens.”
Schaefer said Wednesday the Bulldogs need to improve on their screens because they continue to draw offensive fouls when they try free up their shooters, especially leading scorer Victoria Vivians, who is second in the SEC in scoring (16.8 points per game) and fifth in SEC action (15.4 ppg).
Schaefer said part of the key to MSU’s success against Ole Miss was Vivians found her rhythm early and fed off that to finish 10 of 18 from the field. He has said many times that he believes the rest of the Bulldogs gain confidence and can find better shots if Vivians is having a good game, which usually means she is attracting even more attention.
“I don’t think Victoria took a bad shot Sunday,” Schaefer said. “She came off screens on out-of-bounds we put in rhythm and made shots. I think it starts there. Dom’s shots were all good shots. She goes 5-for-14, but they were all good shots. If I could get that to 5-for-12, that would be my dream.”
MSU’s offense also could receive a lift tonight from the possible return of freshman guard Jazzmun Holmes, who missed the last two games due to an injury. Schaefer said Wednesday that Holmes is “fairly cleared” and that he felt she would be available for tonight’s game. He said the absence of Holmes has forced Dillingham to move over to point guard and has added to the wear and tear on William, who already is battling a leg injury.
“Morgan got tired at Ole Miss on Sunday,” Schaefer said. “I could have used (Holmes) then, too. Jazz had some success against Ole Miss earlier in the year, so I think she would have gone in and played with some confidence and really been good for us.”
Schaefer also wants the Bulldogs to feed the post more. He said it is hard to pass up the 6-foot-5 Okorie and the 6-7 McCowan as many times as the Bulldogs do, but he said the team’s perimeter players need to continue to work on using the size of the post players to their advantage. All of those things could help lift the Bulldogs’ shooting percentage, but he doesn’t believe improvement in shooting percentage will transform MSU into a different team.
“When we go out and play we have to lock down and hold someone under 60 and go score 61 or 62,” Schaefer said. “That is who we are now. I don’t think we’re going to morph into some team that is going to score 75 or 80 every night. I think this is who we are, but if were going to try to get better, we have to stop turning down our five players. That is the first place we’re not exploring enough.”
NOTE: Sophomore Blair Schaefer was named Wednesday to the 2016 SEC Community Service Team. Schaefer has been actively involved in the community since joining the Bulldogs, participating in a number of service projects for the team and the M-Club, Mississippi State’s student-athlete service organization. “It’s a great honor to be on such a team that gives back to the community whenever we have time to do so,” Schaefer said. “Being a student-athlete brings difficulties sometimes with balancing school and basketball, especially with traveling during the heat of the season. However, when I have time to brighten someone’s day just by stopping by for 30 minutes or an hour and cheering them on in a race or praising them in school, I like to take advantage of those opportunities. I never realized how much younger kids look up to me until I started giving back to the community and seeing their faces when I show up to support them in their endeavors. I feel like being on this team shows that we appreciate our fans’ support on the court, and one way to thank them is by finding time to support them back.” Schaefer has been an active participant in Bully’s Book Blitz, an effort that sends Bulldog student-athletes to local schools to encourage the importance of reading. She has also participated in Starkville’s annual Travis Outlaw Day, playing games and interacting with local children.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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