STARKVILLE — Scott Stricklin has been on hand to see a lot of women’s basketball history the last two seasons.

Stricklin was one of the 5,115 fans in attendance Friday to watch No. 5 seed MSU (27-7) beat No. 12 seed Chattanooga 60-50 in its first game as a host team in the NCAA tournament.

After seeing MSU break an attendance record with 80,705 fans, including a state of Mississippi record crowd of 10,626 for a game against South Carolina, Stricklin wasn’t surprised by what he saw Friday, even if the game did start in the middle of the afternoon.

“Our staff really has done a great job preparing and working with the NCAA to make sure we pull this off,” Stricklin said.

Stricklin said he didn’t have an opportunity to hand out any special permission slips that would have given fans a way to get out of work for the day — or at least a few hours. Earlier in the week, MSU coach Vic Schaefer took to social media to let everyone know he had drafted a letter he would be happy to give to people.

Judging from the crowd, there likely were a few people who took advantage of the chance. Stricklin was happy they showed up.

“To have 5,000 folks here on a Friday afternoon is pretty good,” Stricklin said. “I hope everybody makes sure they are here Sunday for the second round.

“Vic has done a great job of building fan support, and our young ladies have been a lot of fun to watch. I don’t think anybody is surprised based on the support we have gotten all year and the last couple of years that we had this kind of crowd today. This is a place that can support women’s basketball, and hopefully this is the first of many of these opportunities we get.”

At 1:30 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2), MSU will have a chance to make more history and earn its single-season record 28th victory when it takes on No. 4 seed Michigan State (25-8). Schaefer hopes an even bigger crowd is on hand to help push the Bulldogs to that mark. The return of Mississippi State’s students from spring break could help pack the Hump.

“I couldn’t be prouder for the country to see what I have been saying for two years now,” Schaefer said. “To be able to play in this environment in that setting, you talk about the college-athlete experience, and that was a tremendous experience today for both teams. That is an NCAA tournament atmosphere. That is what our game desperately needs. I have been to the west coast and played in front of 400. I have been other places where we don’t play in front of that kind of crowd. That crowd was pretty into it. They were loud. They were electric. This is what I have been trying to sell to the world.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my fans. We appreciate them so much. The love they have for my girls is really unique and special. We have a special thing here at Mississippi State. I am just fortunate to be a part of it.”

Fouls played a part

Chattanooga entered the game second to UConn nationally in fewest fouls committed per game (11.4).

But foul problems plagued the Mocs all day Friday, as they were called for 19. Chattanooga matched that number or committed more fouls in a game only six other times this season.

“I don’t think we were going out there and saying we were going to foul,” Chattanooga junior center Jasmine Joyner said. “I think we were playing real tough and then we got called for the fouls. We were just playing and trying to win the game.”

Joyner was whistled for her second foul at the 7-minute, 13-second mark. She already had scored four points, but she went to the bench and didn’t return in the first half. MSU capitalized on her absence by outscoring Chattanooga 18-5 in the second quarter. It also had a 34-24 edge in points in the paint.

Joyner wasn’t the only player in foul trouble. MSU’s Morgan William picked up two early fouls and had to go to the bench. MSU coach Vic Schaefer brought her back into the game with 7:52 left in the second quarter and the Bulldogs trailing 18-11. MSU responded with an 18-3 run to close the quarter.

Chattanooga point guard Alicia “Red” Payne also had three fouls before halftime. She picked up her fourth foul with 1:56 left in the third quarter. Chattanooga coach Jim Foster could be seen in on the sideline looking at the referee who made the call and mouthing, “Horrible.”

After the game, Foster said he didn’t have “an opinion” about games until he watched them on tape. He admitted, though, that there were some interesting calls he wanted to look at.

Home cookin’

MSU improved to 32-3 in the past two years at Humphrey Coliseum. It also is 60-13 all-time at home under Schaefer.

Stingy defense

MSU has made a name for itself with its defense. That trend continued Friday, as the Bulldogs held the Mocs to 39.2-percent shooting (20 of 51) from the field. The defensive effort marked the 20th time the Bulldogs have held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting.

Notable numbers

MSU ‘s 24 offensive rebounds were the most since it has 30 in an 81-41 victory against Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 28, 2015. The 44-29 rebounding edge was the team’s biggest since it outrebounded Ole Miss by 17 in a 79-51 victory on Jan. 18.

MSU entered the game second in the Southeastern Conference and sixth in the nation with 17 offensive rebounds per game. It has won the battle of the offensive boards 25 times.

Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor

Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.