KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Vic Schaefer wouldn’t have liked the talk in the media room Sunday following the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s 71-52 victory against Tennessee.
In front of a national television audience on ESPN2, MSU held Tennessee to eight points in the final 10 minutes to earn its second-straight victory at Thompson-Boling Arena, and its fourth win in the last five games in the series.
The performance had plenty of media members buzzing that MSU, which improved to 20-0 and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference, might be better than the team that won a program-record 34 games and advanced to its first appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament and lost to South Carolina in the national title game.
Tennessee coach Holly Warlick fueled that speculation with her comments after the game.
“They are veterans,” Warlick said. “They have a kid inside (junior center Teaira McCowan) that’s an anchor that’s just strong, physical, solid. (Victoria) Vivians (game-high 24 points) is just an outstanding player. She scores from the outside and the inside. They have roles, and they play really well. (Senior point guard Morgan) William gets the ball where she needs to, and she scores when she needs to. They probably aren’t as deep as they have been, but I think this year they are better than what they were. It comes with experience, and getting the opportunity to play in a Final Four has done nothing but recharged their batteries.”
Winning on the road in front of a crowd of 13,436 can do wonders for your confidence, especially when you do it the way the Bulldogs did it. MSU held Tennessee (16-3, 4-2) to a season-low point total and a season-low 35.8 percent shooting (19-for-53) from the field.
More importantly, MSU answered the bell after Tennessee had cut the deficit to 57-50. Roshunda Johnson (16 points) scored on a drive to stall the Lady Vols’ momentum. Blair Schaefer then added a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 59 seconds remaining that kicked the lead to 12 points. Tennessee missed its final 10 shots from the field to give MSU the win.
MSU outrebounded Tennessee 44-33. McCowan, who had 12 points and 18 rebounds, including 10 offensive, played an instrumental role in the Bulldogs’ 20-11 edge in second-chance points.
MSU also forced nine of Tennessee’s 13 turnovers in the first half. Even though the Lady Vols attempted nine more free throws, the Bulldogs were 7-for-18 from 3-point range. Tennessee was 0-for-8 from behind the arc.
“I’m disappointed our kids weren’t more tough,” Warlick said. “I’ll be honest with you, I thought we gave up to many loose balls. We didn’t get on the floor as much. We have done that (in the past). It just didn’t appear that we had that today. We have to make sure we instill that in our kids. Mississippi State’s kids were tough. They are veterans. They are seasoned. They’ve played in tough situations.”
The win helped MSU climb to a program-record No. 2 in The Associated Press poll, which was released Monday. Florida State’s 50-49 victory against Louisville left MSU and No. 1 Connecticut as the only undefeated teams in Division I women’s basketball.
MSU also matched the 2016-17 squad for the best start in program history thanks to its largest margin of victory against Tennessee. MSU will get a chance to set a new standard at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network) when it plays host to Florida at Humphrey Coliseum.
Schaefer’s challenge will be to keep his team focused on winning the next practice and not getting too far ahead of itself because there are still plenty of challenges. With seniors like Vivians, Johnson, Schaefer, and William, coach Schaefer hopes to use that experience as an advantage the rest of the way. Against Tennessee, Schaefer said the Bulldogs put in a whole new set of plays, which he was able to do because of the team’s experience. He also credited the seniors, McCowan, and junior backup point guard Jazzmun Holmes for being smart enough to take the plays in limited time and execute them in a game.
The result is what Schaefer calls the best offensive team in his coaching career. He said it is really hard to leave one player open and “pick your poison,” as he called it, because the Bulldogs have so many weapons.
On Sunday, MSU offered one of its first examples of the kind of defense Schaefer wants to see the rest of the way. That it came against Tennessee on a day the SEC kicked off its annual “We Back Pat Week” to honor former longtime Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease was even more special. It also offered another sign that the 2017-18 team might have what it takes to prove it is better than last season’s national runner-up.
“Playing the way we played — toughness,” Schaefer said. “(Coach Summitt) wouldn’t be proud we won, but she would be so proud of how we won with our toughness and our rebounding, our relentless effort every possession. That’s the way she wanted the game to be played, and that is the way Vic Schaefer wants it to be played.”
NOTE: On Wednesday, fans can come to The Veranda in Starkville for another edition of DawgTalk with Schaefer. The show will run from 7-8 p.m. Fans unable to attend are encouraged to tweet questions to MSU’s official Twitter account, @HailStateWBK.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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