STARKVILLE — You can almost sense Vic Schaefer cringe when he talks about his team’s defense.
If you look at the statistics, it would be difficult for you to tell there has been a drop-off in the Mississippi State’s women’s basketball team’s play. The Bulldogs are still second in the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense at 56.1 points per game.
But Schaefer, whose nickname is “the Secretary of Defense,” knows better. He also admits he has sacrificed some defensive drill work in practice to work on offense, just as he hinted he might do a few weeks ago.
While it might pain Schaefer’s trained eyes to notice the lack of execution on the finer points, he acknowledges there has been a benefit.
“The bottom line is you’ve got to score more points than the other team,” Schaefer said Friday. “We’ve spent a little more time on offense of late and I’d like to think that it has paid off a little bit.”
Schaefer hopes that work continues to pay dividends at 2 p.m. today when No. 11 MSU (20-4, 7-3 SEC) plays host to No. 21 Missouri (18-5, 5-5) at Humphrey Coliseum.
Schaefer hasn’t scrapped his practice plans. Instead, he said the Bulldogs have shaved about 20 minutes off the time they spend on defense to do more shooting and work on offense. That work paid off Thursday in a 71-52 victory against LSU. The Bulldogs shot 49.1 percent from the field in the victory, only the seventh time this season they have shot 45 percent or better from the field. In the previous game, a 65-55 victory against Arkansas, MSU shot 43.8 percent from the field. Both marks are better than the team’s overall field goal shooting percentage (40.9 percent, ninth in the SEC) and its SEC-only mark (37.6, 10th).
Schaefer said he likes how the Bulldogs are sharing the basketball. He said their ability to attack LSU’s zone and to take care of the ball (only 12 turnovers) helped them overcome a slow start to win their third game in a row. The latest victory solidified their hold on second place in the SEC with six regular-season games remaining. MSU holds the tiebreaker against Florida based on its win on Jan. 3 in Gainesville, Florida, in the SEC opener for both teams.
In addition to sharing the ball better, Schaefer said MSU is taking better shots and being more aggressive taking the ball to the basket. Still, MSU, which leads the SEC in free-throw percentage (74.1 percent) has shot 157 fewer free throws compared to this point last season, when MSU was 22-2 (7-2 in the SEC) and getting set to face Tennessee.
“I think there is a big difference in what we are doing offensively, no question,” Schaefer said. “I just think it’s unfortunate that it takes a game like Georgia (a 47-43 loss on Jan. 21 in Athens, Georgia) to kind of wake you up, make you aware and re-focus. We are light years offensively better, but I said it last night, my point guard is getting healthy. Morgan is feeling better.”
Sophomore point guard Morgan William has battled a leg injury all season, but Schaefer said William told him Thursday she felt “pretty good.” He said a healthy William, who has a lightning-quick first step, “changes the whole dynamic of our team, especially tempo-wise on our offense.”
A healthier William also figures to give MSU a better chance to get out and run more, which could lead to more easy baskets. In the rough-and-tumble SEC, where only No. 2 South Carolina (46.6 percent) and No. 12 Texas A&M (43.5) are shooting better than 43 percent from the field in league play, that is welcome news to Schaefer and the Bulldogs.
“I feel like Morgan has come to realize this is her team,” MSU junior center Chinwe Okorie said. “The role of being a captain has become great motivation for her to pick up the team. We are buying into the leadership Dominique (Dillingham) and Morgan are bringing to the team. We’re like ‘We are on your ship, so let’s go.’ It keeps motivating us to push harder and play harder.”
Dillingham agrees. The junior guard/forward said the Bulldogs have been in the gym more since a 47-43 loss to Georgia in which the team shot 34 percent from the field. MSU shot a season-low 27.1 percent in the next game, a 57-51 loss to South Carolina in Starkville, and 32.9 percent in a 65-65 overtime victory against Tennessee.
“We are just getting more and more confident in shooting,” Dillingham said.
Confidence will be a key ingredient today in a rematch against Missouri. The Bulldogs couldn’t overcome a slow start in the first meeting in Columbia, Missouri, falling 66-54. MSU attempted 26 more shots than Missouri, but the Tigers shot 50 percent from the field.
Dillingham said that loss will be motivation today.
“We don’t want to lose anymore, so that’s enough motivation,” Dillingham said. “It was disappointing and embarrassing to go out there and play that way.”
If history is any indication, MSU figures to have a strong shooting day. Last season, MSU shot 46.7 percent from the field in its 25th game of the season, a 79-67 loss at Tennessee. That game came on the heels of a 50-percent shooting day in a 69-44 victory against Vanderbilt. The win against the Commodores avenged a 78-62 loss in Nashville, Tennessee, which was the Bulldogs’ first loss to the season.
A year ago, MSU shot 45 percent or better from the field nine times. In the final 19 games of the season, the Bulldogs shot less then 40 percent from the field 13 times, including their final six games. Schaefer hopes the added work on offense helps MSU avoid falling into a similar pattern this season.
An added emphasis on attacking the rim could help. Last season, MSU had 26 games in which it attempted 20 or more free throws. This season, MSU has reached that mark 12 times. Schaefer knows a healthier William can help change that number.
“I think (an attacking mind-set) has sunk in,” Schaefer said. “I think we are attacking the rim more. We are sharing the basketball more. Again, part of our free throw disparity between this year and last year has been Morgan and her ability to go off the bounce. I think she is getting back to her old self.”
Okorie figures to be a beneficiary with a healthier William breaking down defenses and getting into the lane. She is looking forward to the Bulldogs getting even better looks at the basket.
“We are getting better shots. We are leaving out the good shots and getting great shots, and leaving out the bad shots to get good shots,” Okorie said. “It really makes a difference and improvement. The guards are getting in the gym more. They are putting so much time into it and it has been working really great.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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