STARKVILLE — Vic Schaefer hasn’t forgotten about defense.
When you’re as efficient offensively as the No. 7 Mississippi State women’s basketball team, it’s natural for a lot of questions to focus on that end of the floor.
Coming off a 48-point win against Florida on Thursday, No. 7 MSU continues to lead the nation in scoring (90.9 points per game). The Bulldogs also are fifth in the country (first in the Southeastern Conference) in field goal percentage (50.7
percent) and 16th in the nation (second in the SEC) in 3-point field goal percentage (38.1).
Throw in the stellar play at point guard by senior Jazzmun Holmes and the improved performance of multiple reserves and Schaefer has a lot of positives to discuss.
But it all comes back to the other end of the floor for a man whose nickname is the “Secretary of Defense.”
“We have got a long way to go (on defense),” Schaefer said Friday.
Schaefer and No. 7 MSU hope they can continue to make strides defensively at 2 p.m. Sunday (SEC Network) when they play host to Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum. The game is sold out.
Schaefer and the players want to see improvement on defense even though the Bulldogs are 21st nationally (second in the SEC) in scoring defense (55.9 ppg.). They are 44th in the country (fourth in the SEC) in field goal percentage defense (36.3).
Holmes and classmate Jordan Danberry said Friday they see signs MSU is progressing on defense. They said those habits need to carry over more consistently to games.
“I think we can still get better on help-side defense,” Danberry said. “We have people taking charges more and more and every day in practice. … We have a lot of areas to improve on defensively.”
Holmes added she thinks the Bulldogs need to work on “guarding the ball” to help protect their post players.
“I know we pride ourselves on defense here,” Holmes said. “That’s a big thing. We can’t run if we don’t play defense and the ball is going through the net. I think that is a big focus for us.”
MSU has scored 20 ore more points off turnovers 13 times this season. The Bulldogs had a 37-6 edge in points off turnovers in their 90-42 victory against the Gators. Coupled with 48 points in the paint and 43 off the bench, MSU showed strong signs in its first full game after losing sophomore forward Chloe Bibby to a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury.
“We’re not there yet,” Schaefer said. “I still think we can become quite a bit better. Some of it’s offense. A lot of it’s defense.”
Schaefer said he saw “flashes” of improvement against Florida. He thought the Bulldogs’ rotation on pick-and-roll defense was really good. He also said he saw his younger players rotating out of help and covering out on shooters. He praised redshirt junior Zion Campbell for picking up a shooter in transition.
Unfortunately, Schaefer said some of his older players still are running back to the lane and aren’t coming out to contest shooters. He reiterated that defensive chemistry is the last piece that comes together for a team, and that he hopes the Bulldogs can find a way to turn the “flashes” into consistency.
“We got a little spoiled last year because those seniors were really good,” Schaefer said. “Our junior class was really good. You have to understand we have a lot of new faces and a lot of new combinations, so one person can really make the chemistry not very good defensively.
“If you have one person who doesn’t rotate, it makes the whole group look bad. We’re working on it. I know what it looks like. You just keep working at it.”
McCowan, Howard selected
On Friday, MSU senior center Teaira McCowan and graduate student Anriel Howard were named to the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s midseason watch list for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
McCowan, who won the inaugural award last year, is averaging 2.6 blocked shots per game, which is the highest of her career. According to HerHoopStats.com, McCowan blocks 9.9 percent of her opponents’ field goal attempts inside the arc, which puts her in the top 2 percent of the nation.
McCowan also rebounds 26.9 percent of her opportunities, the nation’s best rate. She is second in the nation and leads the SEC in rebounding (13.5 per game).
Howard’s selection makes MSU one of two schools (Baylor) with multiple student-athletes in consideration for the award.
Howard is seventh in the SEC in rebounding (7.8). She has 26 steals and 10 blocks.
Semifinalists for the award will be named in February.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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