STARKVILLE — The signs of growth were everywhere.
From the fact that the Mississippi State women’s basketball team battled back from another slow start to the fact that a single-game program record crowd of 7,326 turned out at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs had every reason to celebrate another special day in a history-making season.
But one sequence probably best encapsulates No. 11 MSU’s 55-47 victory against Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference regular-season finale for both teams. When the season started Nov. 9, 2014, MSU had a lineup that featured five freshmen and a first-year sophomore and only one — Jerica James — of its four senior leaders. The Bulldogs also had been picked to finish eighth in the SEC’s preseason poll, so there was no telling what to expect from a team coach Vic Schaefer said was going “to embrace the expectations.” Nearly four months later, MSU showed in the second half Sunday how quickly it has learned to rise to the challenge of life in the upper echelon of one of the nation’s toughest conferences. Clinging to a 47-39 lead with less than five minutes to play, MSU called a play for its leading scorer, Victoria Vivians. The freshman standout received the basketball in the corner in front of the MSU bench and prepared to spring into a jump shot that she had launched many times this season. But something clicked in Vivians’ head. She remembered Schaefer telling the Bulldogs to drive to the basket and make things happen. Earlier in the season, those words hadn’t sunk in, as Vivians relied on the long-range touch that helped make her the state’s all-time leading prep basketball scorer at Scott Central. On this occasion, though, Vivians faked a shot and held her pivot foot. She saw an opening to her left, so she attacked the defense and drew another Ole Miss player when she reached the right block. Instead of forcing a shot, Vivians shoveled the ball to her right to sophomore Ketara Chapel, who converted the layup to kick the lead back to 10 points with 4 minutes, 47 seconds remaining.
“(Victoria) made a couple of really good unselfish plays this afternoon when the game was on the line,” Schaefer said. “She has to do a little bit of everything for us beside just scoring. I stayed on her today about defending a little bit, and she is learning. She is getting it, but we really went to her down the stretch, and I thought she delivered, whether it was making shots, making a pass, or making free throws. She is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The field goal was only MSU’s second in the final 12-plus minutes of the second half. While Chapel’s basket didn’t secure the victory — a 12-of-14 effort from the free-throw line in the final nine minutes did — it offered further proof that the Bulldogs can win on a day when they commit more turnovers (22-21) and have a lower field goal shooting percentage (34.8 to 31.9) than their opponent.
“Coach told me to drive because we were in the bonus and the girl really couldn’t guard me,” Vivians said. “He said, ‘Attack and dish or attack and score.’ I saw if I would go up they would go up and Ketara would be down there by herself, so I just dished it to her.”
When asked if she would have shot the ball when she first received it on that play in November or December, Vivians said it would have “depended on who we were playing.”
After Vivians’ comment, Schaefer and Martha Alwal laughed. He then said, “This is my life.” He added there is no question that play was a sign of growth by Vivians.
“I don’t hesitate to call her number, and down the stretch today, I was calling her number,” Schaefer said. “I am calling the number of a freshman to go get us a bucket, a foul, or get us to the free-throw line. That is because I know she can do it, and she has been there and is comfortable doing it.”
How do the Bulldogs do it? The willingness of Vivians (game-high 17 points, six rebounds) and the Bulldogs to embrace their roles and to play a tenacious style of defense that makes everything tough for the opposition have been two of the biggest reasons MSU (26-5, 11-5 SEC) set program records for wins in a season and victories in the league. Those marks helped the program secure a No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament, which will begin Wednesday in North Little Rock, Arkansas. MSU, which was picked eighth in the SEC preseason poll, earned a double bye until Friday, when it will play at approximately 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) in the last of four quarterfinal-round games.
As much as Vivians’ maturation mirrors that of the Bulldogs, so does the progression of center Martha Alwal. Prior to the game, Alwal and senior classmates Savannah Carter, Kendra Grant, and Jerica James were honored for their contributions to the program. James was the only one who was healthy at the start of the season. Alwal missed the first five games as she recovered from offseason back surgery, and then struggled to regain the form that last season made her a first-team All-SEC performer. In fact, Schaefer opted not to play her Jan. 15 in a 71-69 double-overtime loss to LSU in Starkville. Since that game, Alwal has played in 30 or more minutes in every game. She had reached that total only twice in her first 14 games.
On Sunday, Alwal played a season-high 40 minutes and had nine points, 13 rebounds, which tied a season high, and three blocked shots. After the game, Schaefer joked that Alwal, who had plenty of family members from Minnesota at the game, didn’t ask to be taken out once, which offered another sign of how far Alwal has come in less than two months.
“I thought Martha was great,” Schaefer said. “She altered shots, she blocked shots. Her presence was felt on the floor. Their post players went 6-for-24 today. I couldn’t be more pleased with her.”
Alwal said the program started “from the bottom to the top” in reference to the growth in fan support. She said the crowd was “amazing” and that it helped the team fight through another tough matchup against its archrival.
Tia Faleru had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Gracie Frizzell added 11 points for Ole Miss (17-12, 7-9).
Vivians was MSU’s only player in double figures, but they had plenty of other contributors. Freshman point guard Morgan William had nine points off the bench, sophomore guard/forward Dominique Dillingham had seven points and eight rebounds, and Chapel added five points and three assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
When asked how he felt about his team entering the SEC tournament, Schaefer ticked off South Carolina and Tennessee and then called his team’s name. At the beginning of the season, not many people would have predicted MSU would have been the No. 3 seed, but that is a sign of how much progress Schaefer and his staff have made in year three. With a bid to the NCAA tournament looming, there is no telling where MSU will go, or how high it will be able to climb.
“I will say it now, and I have probably said it in every press conference, we still haven’t played our best basketball,” Schaefer said. “We’re still not playing great. I think we play hard, but we’re still not playing great. If we can ever get them going and get it together, I love our chances, and I like our chances any night against anybody, anywhere.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.