STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer was more concerned about the future than the present Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Minutes after No. 5 MSU moved to 11-0 with an 83-43 thrashing of Maine before a crowd of 4,953, Schaefer talked about the critical nature of the next two weeks for his team. The Bulldogs know the road back to the Final Four needs to start at home for the opening two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
“The next two games are vital to our season,” Schaefer said. “It’s human nature for the players to be more engaged against a tougher opponent. We will take this win and praise the Lord for the chance to be 11-0. After that, we look ahead to a huge week for our basketball team. We will have two quality opponents.
“The goal is to finish non-conference play undefeated. That puts us in a position to do the things we want to do.”
The Bulldogs have finished undefeated non-conference play three times in program history. Two of the three have happened under Schaefer — in 2014-15 and last season.
MSU will face UNLV and Syracuse this week in the UNLV-hosted Desert Classic. The final non-conference game will be Dec. 28 against Mississippi Valley State at Humphrey Coliseum.
A year ago, a road victory against Iowa State in overtime was the crowning achievement of a perfect non-conference slate. This year, a home victory against then-No. 9 Oregon, a home victory against Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, and neutral-site victories against Arizona State and Green Bay are among the highlights.
The game against UNLV at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Duel in the Desert will be MSU’s first true road game. On Thursday, MSU will face Syracuse in a matchup of the past two seasons national finalists. Syracuse fell to Connecticut in the 2016 championship game, while MSU fell to South Carolina in the 2017 championship game.
“Everybody is excited about this trip,” MSU senior Victoria Vivians said. “We are going to play two great teams and we need to do that right now. It’s the type of game we will face all the time (in the Southeastern Conference). This will be big for us.”
After defeating No. 9 Oregon on Wednesday in the Hump, Schaefer thought his team might have a slight letdown against Maine (6-5).
The Bulldogs, who committed 16 turnovers, had some defensive concerns in the first quarter. After that, the squad found a rhythm and easily ran away from the Black Bears.
“We could have played much better,” Schaefer said. “Turnovers weren’t good. Our intensity to start the game wasn’t good. However, there will never come a time where we complain about winning by 40 points. We will savor each win for as long as I am here. We are thrilled about 11-0.”
After her second 30-point performance against Oregon, Teaira McCowan recorded her seventh double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. McCowan was 8-for-14 from the field. She also had three steals.
“I can do so much better,” McCowan said. “When I missed a couple of layups early, I got down on myself. That doesn’t need to happen. I need to finish plays. I am glad my teammates kept getting the ball to me and that we were able to get the win.”
Leading 11-8, the Bulldogs ending the first quarter on an 18-4 run for a 29-12 lead. In the second quarter, the Bulldogs only allowed nine shots from the field and six points to build a 45-18 halftime lead.
“Defensive intensity,” said Vivians, who had 12 points. “It was much better in the second quarter. It was what we needed to be doing the whole game.”
MSU shot 50 percent from the field, held a plus-11 rebounding advantage, forced 27 turnovers, and had 19 assists on 31 made baskets. The Bulldog senior class (Vivians, Blair Schaefer, and Morgan William) notched its 100th victory.
Jazzmun Holmes had nine points, three assists, and three steals, and Jordan Danberry and Zion Campbell had seven points off the bench.
Schaefer said Maine’s tough afternoon could be attributed to travel delays. The team didn’t arrive in Starkville until after midnight Sunday morning. He said his squad will fly out early today.
“It’s Christmas week and you have all kinds of concerns,” Schaefer said. “Plus, we are going to Las Vegas. We’ve got to treat this like a business trip. Over the last couple of years, we have done a great job at focusing when we make it a business trip. … We need to pack the defense and come home with two wins.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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