STARKVILLE
Has the ringing in your ears stopped?
The cheers of 7,094 fans are still reverberating in Humphrey Coliseum two days after the Mississippi State women’s basketball team defeated Michigan State 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“It is a great feeling,” MSU sophomore point guard Morgan William said Sunday. “It is my first time going to the Sweet 16. We have worked so hard for this moment. It is a great feeling as a team. We worked so hard for it and it is actually paying off.”
In one of the most memorable games played in the venue, coach Vic Schaefer’s Bulldogs punched the program’s second ever ticket to the Sweet 16. In the process, MSU (28-7) set a single-season record for wins and pushed its record attendance to 92,914, the 14th-best mark in the nation.
MSU’s reward for its accomplishment is a game against three-time reigning national champion Connecticut (34-0), which beat Duquesne 97-51 on Monday night. The teams will play at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Led by coach Geno Auriemma, UConn has won 10 titles and is riding a 71-game winning streak, the second-longest mark in team and Division I women’s history. The Huskies own the top three streaks on that list, and surpassed the 70-game streak they set between November 2001 and November 2003.
If you have watched women’s basketball on ESPN, you probably can recite a list of UConn’s accomplishments. UConn has replaced Tennessee as the sport’s dominant program, so it isn’t surprising it receives the majority of coverage from the “worldwide leader in sports.” The Huskies shoot a Division-I best 52.5 percent from the field. They hold opponents to 33-percent shooting. They can beat you in a half-court set or in transition because they have three of the best players — Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck — in the sport.
The matchup at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, which is a little more than 79 miles from UConn’s campus in Storrs, will give Schaefer and MSU an opportunity to measure their progress. In four years, the Bulldogs have been transformed from a team that went 13-17 to one that is in its second-straight NCAA tournament. A year ago, MSU lost to Duke in Durham, North Carolina, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. On Sunday, MSU appeared to grow up before the eyes of a raucous crowd when it built a 13-point lead in the third quarter and fought back from a seven-point deficit to return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Just like in that season, MSU has nothing to lose. Six years ago, MSU was the upstart that was looking to crash a party usually reserved for heavyweights like UConn, Notre Dame, Baylor, and Maryland. In recent years, Dawn Staley has helped South Carolina join the upper crust of women’s college basketball. The Gamecocks, who lost to the Huskies 66-54 in February in Columbia, South Carolina, have yet to break through against the nation’s No. 1 team. Very few have, which is why MSU should treat its next game as a celebration.
It is remarkable that the Bulldogs have made this much progress in such a short time. They have done it by overcoming their limitations and playing with a toughness and a fight that has made them a pain in the you know what to play. They hope to bring that same energy to Bridgeport and see how it fares against the sport’s gold standard. There shouldn’t be any talk about being intimidated by the Huskies or moral victories of staying close to the national champions. MSU is past the point of being intimidated by anyone, especially after beating Tennessee twice this season for the program’s first two victories in the history of the series.
When you’re one of the final 16 teams standing, moral victories don’t exist, especially in March. The Bulldogs have proven they belong. Some would say it is a year early. With every player except senior Sherise Williams expected back next season, MSU figures to have a top-10 team next season. The lessons the Bulldogs have learned this season should show them what they need to do to take the next step. That’s how they should treat their next “business trip.” Very few people in the women’s college basketball believe MSU has a chance to win Saturday. Who cares. It is a basketball game. It is March. If history has shown us anything it is that crazy things happen, so don’t allow ESPN or any media outlet to send UConn on to the next round without playing the game.
After all, there probably weren’t very many people in the Hump on Sunday who had the confidence that MSU was going to wipe the “glazed” look off its face and beat Michigan State after getting blitzed by a 20-0 run. Victories against Tennessee in the SEC tournament and the latest one against Michigan State epitomize the Bulldogs’ ability to do surprising things.
As Kayla Nevitt said after the game Sunday, “everything has perfect timing.” She’s exactly right. After a four-year climb, this is the perfect time for MSU to play UConn.
MSU will celebrate victories against Vanderbilt and Tennessee at the Southeastern Conference tournament and wins against Chattanooga and Michigan State at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at a special Hail State Hoops Luncheon at Mize Pavilion.
The cost for the luncheon is $12. Fans who call 662-325-0198 or email [email protected] will be entered for the opportunity to win a door prize.
Reports from The Associated Press were included in this story.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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